Ptychodus04’s Fossil Fish Prepapalooza

[Ptychodus04]

Spent a few more hours on this guy tonight. The bits between the intrahemal bones are not coming out as nicely as I had hoped. The matrix is really hard and sticky here. 

 

[RJB]

 Intrahemal bones?  Im guessing the 'gut' bones?    

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

19 minutes ago, RJB said:

 Intrahemal bones?  Im guessing the 'gut' bones?    

 

RB

The intrahemal bones are the anchor bones for the anal fin. They extend between the hemal spines on the bottom of the vertebrae. It's a very descriptive moniker.

 

I love scientific nomenclature because it is extremely precise.

[Fossilis Willis]

4 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

The intrahemal bones are the anchor bones for the anal fin. They extend between the hemal spines on the bottom of the vertebrae. It's a very descriptive moniker.

 

I love scientific nomenclature because it is extremely precise.

Ah, you mean its kilted bits.

[Ptychodus04]

1 hour ago, Fossilis Willis said:

Ah, you mean its kilted bits.

Yup. On that thread, I just got a call from a friend of mine who is almost finished making a handmade leather sporran for me. ( the muhaha emoji is gone).

[Ptychodus04]

A few more hours in. The matrix is coming off slow. It really is a big ol fish.

 

[Randyw]

Looks like A lotta work but it’s looking really good!

[Ptychodus04]

3 hours ago, Randyw said:

Looks like A lotta work but it’s looking really good!

It is slow going. This came from the very bottom of the 18” layer, (right on top of the bottom cap) so the rock is significantly harder than most GRF fish-bearing material.

 

There’s a trade off though as the preservation is often superior to the softer material.

[Ptychodus04]

I got most of the body work done today and started the microscope work with the Micro Jack on the caudal fin. Slow going for sure but the delicate rays are coming out nicely.

 

 

[Ptychodus04]

[Randyw]

Sweet set up! And it looks like you’ve pretty much got this one licked!

[Ptychodus04]

17 minutes ago, Randyw said:

Sweet set up! And it looks like you’ve pretty much got this one licked!

Probably 4-5 hours more. The scope work goes really slow. 

[Fossilis Willis]

A top shelf specimen (as long as it's a sturdy shelf).

[RJB]

Thats lookin real good Kris!   and I also think the Diplo has the nicest tail of all the fishes from the GRF.   I know these big fish take some serious time but in the end you will have tons of satisfaction.  Youd better clear an intire wall inside the house now. 

[Ptychodus04]

2 hours ago, RJB said:

Thats lookin real good Kris!   and I also think the Diplo has the nicest tail of all the fishes from the GRF.   I know these big fish take some serious time but in the end you will have tons of satisfaction.  Youd better clear an intire wall inside the house now. 

 

Yah, they have some cool fins, and a lot of them! That's good and bad since prepping the fins is a real nightmare! I know I have at least 2 more fish this size to prep as well. But, it's hard to say for sure since I have multiple fish slabs leaning against every vertical surface in the lab!

[RJB]

21 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

I have multiple fish slabs leaning against every vertical surface in the lab!

Sounds like fish slab wall paper? 

[Ptychodus04]

2 hours ago, RJB said:

Sounds like fish slab wall paper? 

Pretty close.

 

It's going to take a few minutes to prep all this.

[Ptychodus04]

The big Diplo is finished! It took around 19 hours all in. It turned out rather nicely even with a bit of poor preservation on the anal fin.

 

I started another prep tonight that is a hot mess. There’s a small fish laying on top of it  and there’s a random fin preserved on the side of its face.

[Doctor Mud]

Beautiful work!

And straight back into it too. Look forward to seeing your future preps.

 

[Ptychodus04]

Here’s the new slab. It has an 18” Diplo and an approx. 4” Knightia.

[Ptychodus04]

Here’s the fish after a few hours of aggressive scribe work.

[Incognito Rockhound]

On 7/25/2019 at 8:59 AM, RJB said:

@Ptychodus04,   cute little diplo.   I love the little fishy's.    Im posting a picture for an idea how to maybe finish it?    And @Randyw,  living in Nebraska gives you no right to be low on fossils!!!    Just kidding.  Just seems like you should have boxes and boxes of White River stuff?

 

RB

 

@RJB - I absolutely love the way the sides turned out! Great job!

 

If I saw it in a shop somewhere, I would definitely snatch it up 

[Ludwigia]

On 17.8.2019 at 10:32 PM, Ptychodus04 said:

Here’s the fish after a few hours of aggressive scribe work.

Lovely how that shale is just popping off I guess you're gonna hafta separate the Knightia by the looks of it.

 

[Ptychodus04]

23 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

Lovely how that shale is just popping off I guess you're gonna hafta separate the Knightia by the looks of it.

 

It’s not exactly popping off.  that dark layer is an extremely hard layer that I have to use my Super Jack to peel it off. 

 

I’m withholding judgement on the Knightia for now. If I can safely trim it close enough, I’ll leave it in place.

[Ludwigia]

8 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said:

It’s not exactly popping off.  that dark layer is an extremely hard layer that I have to use my Super Jack to peel it off. 

 

I’m withholding judgement on the Knightia for now. If I can safely trim it close enough, I’ll leave it in place.

Amazing how misleading a photo can be sometimes.