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The Amateur Paleontologist

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Hey everyone,

 

I recently came back from a trip to England. Most of the time was spent in museums, especially London's Natural History Museum. Over there, I met the Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology (Tim Ewin), who showed me around some parts of the Echinoderm Collections. Basically, the goal of this visit was to examine some of the echinoderms from the British Chalk, for some comparative research material for my MKFRP project. Some of the stuff in those collections is absolutely amazing :) - and the amount of material in there is really extensive. 

This thread will show some of the chalk echinoderm material that I saw over there.

Hope you guys'll like this!

 

2 very well articulated Tylocidaris clavigera in a single nodule of chalk

5b3509af22ae5_ScreenShot2018-06-28at18_14_46.png.97979145a7d418bdc94a70147f721b8e.pngg on

 

Drawer filled with "tylocidarine" regular echinoids. The pink colouring on some of the specimens is due to the fact that some of them needed to have the fine details rendered sharper (this was before the age of digital photography)

5b350ce97c5e1_ScreenShot2018-06-28at18_28_49.thumb.png.181cbf05baa0a2b289958cb60efef087.png

 

Partial Tylocidaris clavigera associated with a disarticulated goniasterid (Asteroidea, Goniasteridae) starfish

5b350e14e0ac2_ScreenShot2018-06-28at18_30_39.png.bb5c829f21a2b9e16404c949ee8579ad.png

 

Very well preserved and nearly complete Nymphaster marginatus goniasterid

5b350fbb8b540_ScreenShot2018-06-28at18_39_12.png.3129306f831a92b4971aca561ab7ab9d.png

 

Neat little example of the goniasterid Metopaster

5b35113a41806_ScreenShot2018-06-28at18_46_22.png.696a1a468ee505b5ef1683f53524832e.png

 

Calyx and partial arm of the free-floating crinoid Marsupites testudinarius (sorry for not very good photo quality :( )

 5b351cdb798b8_ScreenShot2018-06-28at19_34_44.png.80e4735986e91f5a8b7cf7bfa94c2478.png

 

Articulated columnals of an isocrinid crinoid (possibly Isocrinus); this is specifically relevant to my MKFRP project given the age of that fossil (Early Maastrichtian)

5b35148f27b39_ScreenShot2018-06-28at18_59_02.png.d46d619e3c3e4dafb86645b99bcfd813.png

 

To finish things off… It's not very "chalk-y", but it's definitely special - a Palaeocoma milleri ophiuroid from the Early Jurassic of Lyme Regis, collected by Mary Anning

 5b3516ac64c78_ScreenShot2018-06-28at19_06_24.png.5cb62bacf207167ffeeb8255063d6e9a.png

 

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

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I like this. Great opportunity for you, especially meeting up with the

12 minutes ago, The Amateur Paleontologist said:

Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology (Tim Ewin)

:)

"Journey through a universe ablaze with changes" Phil Ochs

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@Innocentx Yeah, he's a nice guy :) Great to talk with, and he definitely knows his "echinoderm-ology"!

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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Always enjoy seeing the behind the scene collections.  Thank you for sharing must have been a very good experience for you.

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Wow, very impressive stuff. Thanks for sharing it with us. What a great experience for you.

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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20180628_204238.png

And she probably sold something like this for a 1/2 Farthing at that time too!

 

If we could just jump into the "Wayback Machine" with a pocket full of cash. Or better yet, assist her on the hunts.

 

 

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Glad you guys liked it - it was really fun and informative :) 

 

@caldigger I agree, though I'd probably go for assisting her on her hunts. I mean, can you imagine? Fossil hunting with Mary Anning...

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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Thanks for the tour.

What is that pink stuff and is it not removable? I suppose not, otherwise they would have done it. I wonder why they didn't use the sublimated ammonium chloride method (which evaporated off the fossil soon after it is photographed) - I believe they had that technique before digital photography, but I could be wrong (maybe not way back?)...

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@Wrangellian The pink stuff is indeed unremovable, those who were working on the specimens chose for some unknown reason to not use something removal. It was indeed before digital photography, since a white specimen on a white rock would have been difficult to photograph. Hence the pink stuff, to bring out certain fine details of the specimen. 

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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So the white stuff was not used before digital photography? I would have thought it was an old technique, specifically to make fossils stand out in photos (film or otherwise), especially for print publications. Our local go-to fossil guide here, West Coast Fossils (pub. 1997/8, with b+w photos printed on non-glossy paper) relied heavily on the ammonium chloride technique for its fossil photography.

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  • 1 month later...

Lovely specimens, have met up with Tim a few times over the last 10yrs, had a few peeks of stuff, it's a maze behind the scenes.

 

 

 

Never ask a starfish for directions

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58 minutes ago, Brittle Star said:

Lovely specimens, have met up with Tim a few times over the last 10yrs, had a few peeks of stuff, it's a maze behind the scenes.

 

 

 

Absolutely agree.. I'd get lost had I been without Tim - not that I'd actually mind getting lost in there ;)

-Christian

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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