Dave pom Allen Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Hi all just thought i would share this. as i mentioned in a topic on Wednesday found a new bird skull this is different from others i have found being quite a bit larger than others i have, i am thinking it maybe an Albatross of some kind i have spent about 5 hours prep on this so far and it is very fragile. Another lovely specimen from "heaven" my favorite beach. late Miocene- early Pliocene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleo-shark_hunter Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Hi all just thought i would share this. as i mentioned in a topic on Wednesday found a new bird skull this is different from others i have found being quite a bit larger than others i have, i am thinking it maybe an Albatross of some kind i have spent about 5 hours prep on this so far and it is very fragile. Another lovely specimen from "heaven" my favorite beach. late Miocene- early Pliocene. Thats Amazing, thanks for sharing "Re-living History, one piece at a time..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimsvotn Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Beautiful find! If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. - Carl Sagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 When I come to, I'll post a link to a seabird osteology site; if you don't already have it, is should prove useful. My link Even allowing for the fact that the skulls and their dimensions include the bill sheath (which is absent from most fossils), your amazing specimen is rather on the small side for an albatross, with a more gracile bill and a higher "forehead". I'm not saying it's not an albatross, just smaller than any extant ones I've come across. Conversely, is it quite too big for a shearwater (again, for an extant one). (By the way, about the penguin skull pics I promised; they won't do you much good if they aren't identified with some degree of confidence, and I am struggling with this. The seabird osteology site has quite a few modern penguin skulls on it ; maybe it will help there too). "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave pom Allen Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 When I come to, I'll post a link to a seabird osteology site; if you don't already have it, is should prove useful. My link Even allowing for the fact that the skulls and their dimensions include the bill sheath (which is absent from most fossils), your amazing specimen is rather on the small side for an albatross, with a more gracile bill and a higher "forehead". I'm not saying it's not an albatross, just smaller than any extant ones I've come across. Conversely, is it quite too big for a shearwater (again, for an extant one). (By the way, about the penguin skull pics I promised; they won't do you much good if they aren't identified with some degree of confidence, and I am struggling with this. The seabird osteology site has quite a few modern penguin skulls on it ; maybe it will help there too). Thanks For your amazing knowledge and help, i have been using the seabird osteology site for some time now and the digimorph site both have been very helpful when i am preparing my finds. i have Alan Tennison of TePapa here next week i am sure when he has a look at my new finds he might pop an eye ball. ps:dont worry about the penguin material Thanks again Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenocidaris Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Great find! Sincerely, Bram Fossils: a way of life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave pom Allen Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Hi Chas Ive been doing a be of homework and come to the conclusion that it is of a large petrel, the bill and bill sheath seem narrower through the beak than albatross its a very slender bill, its not to compressed from the fossilization process.still have a few more hours of prep to do to get it where i want.i still have a mountain of work ahead of me to actually identify . who knows what i might find next week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Dave... Very nice indeed Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandomas Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) Hi all just thought i would share this. as i mentioned in a topic on Wednesday found a new bird skull this is different from others i have found being quite a bit larger than others i have, i am thinking it maybe an Albatross of some kind i have spent about 5 hours prep on this so far and it is very fragile. Another lovely specimen from "heaven" my favorite beach. late Miocene- early Pliocene. I need a trip in Australia soon!!! Sometime Heaven Cannot Wait :o Congrats Nando Edited June 20, 2011 by Nandomas Erosion... will be my epitaph! http://www.paleonature.org/ https://fossilnews.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Amazing! I need to go hunting..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Wow... (I don't think there's an emoticon for this)... these NZ fossil birds you are finding keep getting better. I'm going to let nando go to Oz. I am coming to NZ for some paleobirding. great stuff... keep on finding them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Hi all just thought i would share this. as i mentioned in a topic on Wednesday found a new bird skull this is different from others i have found being quite a bit larger than others i have, i am thinking it maybe an Albatross of some kind i have spent about 5 hours prep on this so far and it is very fragile. Another lovely specimen from "heaven" my favorite beach. late Miocene- early Pliocene. Amazing. Question though, if the specimen you prepped on the left is the skull, what is the specimen on the right half? They look like mirror images of each other, but your prepped specimen on he left looks complete. Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Looks like the skull split in half when he "bonked the conc"; I'll bet that Dave had to glue the two halves back together and prep down to it. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Looks like the skull split in half when he "bonked the conc"; I'll bet that Dave had to glue the two halves back together and prep down to it. Ah, that would explain it. I was afraid of asking a dumb question in case I was missing something obvious, but in the original pics of the two halevs, it really seemd like there was some skull on the right half. Daryl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave pom Allen Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 thats just prep. you do what you have to especially in a case like this, they don't always play the game but the end result is well worth the effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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