Jaybot Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Well, after a year of searching, I finally found my first trilobite! They are relatively rare in my area (KC), so I’m pretty ecstatic. Decided to take this prep nice and slow, here’s the bug how I found it: Rock is thankfully not really sticky, was able to spend 40 min on this yesterday: As you can see in the last photo, I used my chisel tip to scribe excess material from above where the head might be. I took it down as far as I was brave enough to do so, because I’m worried that the head might be curved upward. I’m no trilobite expert, so any premature guesses on the species? Update possibly coming tonight. Have a great weekend everyone! -Jay 5 -Jay ''...science is eminently perfectible, and that each theory has constantly to give way to a fresh one.'' -Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 We can extrapolate the greater number of pygidial ribs: Ameura missouriensis 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.C. Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Congratulations! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Congrats on the find, Jay! Excellent start to your first prep! 1 The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybot Posted December 16, 2023 Author Share Posted December 16, 2023 4 hours ago, piranha said: We can extrapolate the greater number of pygidial ribs: Ameura missouriensis Ah that's it. Thank you! 4 hours ago, A.C. said: Congratulations! 48 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: 19 minutes ago, FossilNerd said: Congrats on the find, Jay! Excellent start to your first prep! I appreciate the kind comments everyone! Glad I've been practicing on brachs for the last few months, I've learned a lot. Note to anyone first starting: practice on 'throwaway' fossils!! Starting to feel like I got the hang of basic preparation. Of course, helps when the matrix isn't sticky and going slow has improved my technique a lot. Hoping the cephalon is there.. 2 -Jay ''...science is eminently perfectible, and that each theory has constantly to give way to a fresh one.'' -Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie_1971 Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 Congratulations! I am stoked for you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybot Posted December 17, 2023 Author Share Posted December 17, 2023 Well, got over 1 1/2 hours in. Quickly realized that no cephalon is there; this is just the pygidium. Just to be sure I removed a bunch of rock looking for a possibly disarticulated cephalon, but there is not. No problem, I am still very happy with it, and thank you to @piranhafor the id! Here it is before and after consolidation: It does have a nice chocolate color. Maybe someday I’ll find a complete example- the hunt is still on! I’ll shape and smooth the rock on Monday and other final touches, and show the finished product. I’ve found that rock smoothing can transform a fossil’s eye appeal. Anyways. Hope you all are enjoying this just as much as I am, have a great rest of your weekend! -Jay 2 -Jay ''...science is eminently perfectible, and that each theory has constantly to give way to a fresh one.'' -Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybot Posted December 17, 2023 Author Share Posted December 17, 2023 55 minutes ago, Newbie_1971 said: Congratulations! I am stoked for you! Thank you, I appreciate it! -Jay ''...science is eminently perfectible, and that each theory has constantly to give way to a fresh one.'' -Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybot Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 As promised, here is the final update after downsizing the rock and smoothing. Takes longer than I would initially think to rock smooth- took me 50 min to finish this mini project. I smoothed the areas close to the fossil with my dremel 290, make sure to turn the power to the lowest setting. For the rest of the rock, I used a rotary dremel with a round stone attachment. Be sure to wear a mask and other ppe, as the dust is harmful. Anyways, here it is: Even though I made a few mistakes, I’m pretty happy with it. Rock smoothing makes a night and day difference in my opinion. On to the next project. If y’all noticed something I did wrong, or something I could try/improve on, please let me know. Still a beginner at this prepping stuff Hope you all enjoyed this thread, have a great rest of your week! -Jay 4 -Jay ''...science is eminently perfectible, and that each theory has constantly to give way to a fresh one.'' -Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collector9658 Posted December 19, 2023 Share Posted December 19, 2023 Sweet. Nice job cleaning up the pygidium. Do you know what formation and member(s) you are searching through? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybot Posted December 19, 2023 Author Share Posted December 19, 2023 (edited) 8 hours ago, Collector9658 said: Sweet. Nice job cleaning up the pygidium. Do you know what formation and member(s) you are searching through? Pennsylvanian, northwest KC area, and I think that the layer I was hunting is the cement city fm. And this specimen is in a medium to hard limestone. Edited December 19, 2023 by Jaybot 1 -Jay ''...science is eminently perfectible, and that each theory has constantly to give way to a fresh one.'' -Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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