dirtdauber Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 (edited) Finished preparing this big old crab a couple of weeks ago. Easily the most difficult prep that I've attempted because of spotty preservation and pyritization. Estimating that I spent about 240+ hours on prep and it is still ugly. Have not been able to ID yet, but hopefully there is enough detail to come up with an ID eventually. What do you think, Alex? Was enclosed in a nodule that was broken. Collected the larger piece in February 2019 and the right cheliped in September 2018. The carapace is about 8.5" long and 8.0" wide. The chelipeds, measured along the outside edge are about 22" long and are about equal in size. Attached are a few photos. Collected from the lower Ripley Fm., Upper Cretaceous (Late Campanian) in south-central Alabama, USA. Edited September 16, 2019 by dirtdauber Forgot to include geology. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Holy Cow! What a preparative nightmare! 8 minutes ago, dirtdauber said: about 240+ hours on prep !!! Congrats to your dedication, endurance and patience !!! 9 minutes ago, dirtdauber said: still ugly You can be proud of it! Its a child of labor and love!! Very well done, I never would have the patience for doing something like that! Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pemphix Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Cool crabby ! Can you tell about strata etc. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdauber Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 4 minutes ago, Pemphix said: Cool crabby ! Can you tell about strata etc. ? Edited the post. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterpillar Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Maybe Avitelmessus http://www.paleotheque.fr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdauber Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 7 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said: Holy Cow! What a preparative nightmare! !!! Congrats to your dedication, endurance and patience !!! You can be proud of it! Its a child of labor and love!! Very well done, I never would have the patience for doing something like that! Franz Bernhard Thanks, Franz. I was really getting tired of it towards the end, but finally finished. Began working it during the first week in May and finished it the second week in September. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 A spectacular synergy of a fossil masquerading as fine art ... Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Looks like it died eating it's last meal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdauber Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 2 minutes ago, caterpillar said: Maybe Avitelmessus No, not Avitelmessus. I have compared it to Avitelmessus and the claws are much different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdauber Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 1 hour ago, caldigger said: Looks like it died eating it's last meal! Sure does! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdauber Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 1 hour ago, piranha said: A spectacular synergy of a fossil masquerading as fine art ... Congrats! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Maybe a Picasso crab? Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 1 hour ago, FossilDAWG said: Maybe a Picasso crab? Don I'd tip Salvador Dali Wow! That was really a labor of love! 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Wow it is definitely an ugly bug but an pretty amazing preparation job. I really think it is an interesting specimen and would look great in anybody’s collection. Time well spent. I have been thinking about doing a thread “show us your ugly fossils and now I think you have found the poster boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMert Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 It looks very good actually taking into consideration its not a common crab from a Miocene concretion. Amazing job My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pemphix Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 14 hours ago, dirtdauber said: Edited the post. Thank you. Thankx ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Show it to George Phillips. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdauber Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 2 hours ago, Uncle Siphuncle said: Show it to George Phillips. He and other paleontologists have seen it. Difficult to ID because of poor preservation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLB Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 Holy #### that looks like a head ache to me great job must have been lots of work to get it to look this nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtdauber Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 13 hours ago, DLB said: Holy #### that looks like a head ache to me great job must have been lots of work to get it to look this nice. Thanks. Liked it less and less as the hours, days, and months wore on, but I think it might be a new species, so could be worth the headaches. Have you seen any crabs this large? -- George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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