The Amateur Paleontologist Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 1 hour ago, caldigger said: I find it easier. Its really hard to keep the live things staying put on the shelves and drawers. They always seem to want to get free! OK that's it I'm calling PETA Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy! Q. Where do dinosaurs study? A. At Khaan Academy!... My ResearchGate profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bguild Posted June 29, 2019 Share Posted June 29, 2019 Mannn, per usual there are some awesome finds in here . Congrats to everyone! I'll throw a Penn Dixie hat into the ring. This find was one of a handful of keepers from my first trip to upstate NY. I found this Eldredgeops on 5/18, but preparation was completed on 6/21. Credit to @Malcolmt for this awesome prep job! Malcolm was kind enough to give me a hand prepping a couple of trilobites I found during my trip up to Penn Dixie. Date of Discovery: 5/21 with preparation completed on 6/21. Name: Eldredgeops rana with horn coral, Stereolasma rectum Geologic Age: Devonian Location: Hamburg, NY Before prep: After Prep: 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 @Bguild, you clearly have my vote because of this: I don´t know, what the black blotch to the upper left is , but I like the coral very much ! Seriously, very, very nice bug, very detailed preservation and perfect prep. Congrats!! With extra bonus, I have not seen many trilos from there together with a coral cross section. Franz Bernhard 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 9 hours ago, FranzBernhard said: I have not seen many trilos from there together with a coral cross section. Oh he just painted that on the plate hoping to get some extra votes from the coral lovers out there! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 1 hour ago, caldigger said: Oh he just painted that on the plate hoping to get some extra votes from coral lovers! !! That was very smart, @Bguild ! Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 On 6/28/2019 at 9:58 PM, Ludwigia said: It’s gonna be almost impossible to decide this month They’re all so impressive! Yup. Ollenoides Nevadensis with associated Elrathia Kingii U-dig quarry near Delta, UT Found August 2013, Prep in progress this month, major portion of prep done June 2019 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 26 minutes ago, Scylla said: Yup. Ollenoides Nevadensis with associated Elrathia Kingii U-dig quarry near Delta, UT Found August 2013, Prep in progress this month, major portion of prep done June 2019 Great prep work on this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 2 minutes ago, PaleoNoel said: Great prep work on this! I have to agree, not my prepping but he is well known in the trilobite world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 1 hour ago, Scylla said: Yup. Ollenoides Nevadensis with associated Elrathia Kingii U-dig quarry near Delta, UT Found August 2013, Prep in progress this month, major portion of prep done June 2019 Time flies ... glad to see this one finally get prepped. I'm assuming you followed through with the preparator I recommended back in 2013, or did someone else prep it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevonianDigger Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I was going to enter this month. But after looking at the competition, I'm not even going to bother. Nice work all! Jay A. Wollin Lead Fossil Educator - Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Reserve Hamburg, New York, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 28 minutes ago, piranha said: Time flies ... glad to see this one finally get prepped. I'm assuming you followed through with the preparator I recommended back in 2013, or did someone else prep it? Someone else. This guy ended up doing another Ollenoides nevadensis for a friend of mine and he did a spectacular job and he was within driving distance so I was able to deliver it in person rather than trusting the mail. Unfortunately in 2013 I had budget constraints that prevented me from getting it prepped at that time, then I lost the phone #. 29 minutes ago, DevonianDigger said: I was going to enter this month. But after looking at the competition, I'm not even going to bother. Nice work all! Please enter, whatever fossil it was is probably pretty spectacular! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heteromorph Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 For this month’s vertebrate part of the contest, I present parts of an articulated Mosasaur specimen. Nine mosasaur caudal vertebrae were initially found on the surface weathering out of a marly horizon in the lower Atco formation, just a few meters above the basal Atco lag deposit. I documented those on the surface, then bagged them up and carefully dug into the marl to see what else was hiding entombed, and uncovered 7 more articulated verts. Seeing the possible scientific significance of the vertebrae still in-situ and wanting to preserve taphonomic context around the specimen, I dug around and pedestaled them in a block of about 70 lbs. Though isolated mosasaur remains are occasionally found, articulated mosasaur specimens from the lower Atco are very rare to my knowledge. This is my personal oldest mosasaur find, being early Coniacian in age. I contacted Michael J. Polcyn about the specimen, and he identified it to Russellosaurina but said he would have to see it in hand to narrow it down, which he hopefully will do in a few weeks. In total, the excavation uncovered about 18 vertebrae, though there are possibly more in the block we brought home, and it is also very possible that there are still more in the ground. More updates to come in July, but for more information now see my post here. References: Polcyn & Bell. (2005) Russellosaurus coheni n. gen., n. sp., a 92 million-year-old mosasaur from Texas (USA), and the definition of the parafamily Russellosaurina Email from Michael J. Polcyn. *VFOTM entry* Date of Discovery: Saturday, June 15, 2019 Scientific and/or Common Name: Russellosaurina mosasaur Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: Early Coniacian, Austin Group, lower Atco Fm State, Province, or Region Found: North Texas, United States 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heteromorph Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 2 hours ago, Scylla said: 48 minutes ago, Scylla said: Someone else. This guy ended up doing another Ollenoides nevadensis for a friend of mine and he did a spectacular job and he was within driving distance so I was able to deliver it in person rather than trusting the mail. Unfortunately in 2013 I had budget constraints that prevented me from getting it prepped at that time, then I lost the phone #. Is this the final prep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 56 minutes ago, piranha said: Is this the final prep? 3 hours ago, Scylla said: ...Prep in progress this month... lol... I think this answers that question. I was confused that you posted it before it was finished. Looking forward to seeing it after the matrix is removed from the axial spines. Congrats again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted July 1, 2019 Author Share Posted July 1, 2019 50 minutes ago, piranha said: I was confused that you posted it before it was finished. @Scylla was being very mindful of the rules of the FOTM contest which we abide by to try to make a fair and level playing field for members. Since the majority of the prep work was done in the month of June, he entered it in this month's contest. It is pretty much completely exposed by this point and further prep will only finish off the background matrix and do a bit of clean-up to complete this beautiful bug. This is not the final form for this find and I'm sure he'll post a photo of the completed specimen when he receives it from the prepper. 2 hours ago, Heteromorph said: Seeing the possible scientific significance of the vertebrae still in-situ and wanting to preserve taphonomic context around the specimen, I dug around and pedestaled them in a block of about 70 lbs. Thanks for this spectacular last minute entry for this month's contest. As a community we all appreciate the care you took to document and preserve the find. Hoping that this find (articulated vertebrae) are a scientifically significant find. We really love examples when avocational fossil hunters make important finds and work with the professionals to make sure as much information as possible is preserved. Cheers. -Ken 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts