Jump to content

Ichthyosaur skull prep - saving a fossil that was poorly excavated


-Andy-

Recommended Posts

Sometime ago, I acquired an ichthyosaur skull that was poorly prepped. It had been roughly grinded and had lost much of its surface details. This is unlike the Holzmaden-style ichthyosaurs that were professionally prepped from the beginning, resulting in a beautiful fossil with scleral eye rings and full teeth etc. It's the reason collectors get unprepped Keichousaurus and send them to professional preppers, with the resultant Keichousaurus being more detailed than the ones you see from the Chinese market.

 

This guy here is as flat as a pancake and so it would take delicate work to remove the hard matrix without damaging what bones still remain.

 

Thankfully, @steelhead9 was up to the task of prepping him further. There is no restoration here. I'd say he has done one heck of a job.

 

TFF_2.thumb.jpg.2b54948d3360260d7d14a52e7e079702.jpg

TFF_1.thumb.jpg.609583a3d93ea034a7f29c40fa652494.jpg

  • I found this Informative 12

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andy,

@steelhead9 does amazing work.  :wub: 

It is evident in every piece he has ever posted here on the Forum.  :) 

You were lucky to have him work on it for you.  Great choice.

Congratulations Andy, on a (now)  amazing skull.  

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh boy he did a great job now you really have a nice specimen, good call on getting him to do it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys! Prepping is a harrowing experience especially when you have to send your precious fossil overseas but as you can see, in the hands of a good prepper it's worth it!

  • I found this Informative 1

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...