Clayton Jones Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I'm really interested in how the two animals may have interacted in life; Maybe one was trying to eat the other or something. My attempt at creating a museum and community center to help people find an interest in the world around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) This specimen is so small. All of the US specimens of Halisaurus (that I have seen) have been massive. A individual in Texas has a Halisaurus from the North Sulpher River than has vertebrae the size of one gallon paint cans... I believe it is in a museum in North Texas now, though. Edited January 22, 2013 by Boneman007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) You sure it was Halisaurus? I was under the impression they maxed out at about 13 feet. All I've seen are tiny. The only US Mosasaur I can think of that would be that big is Tylosaurus. Edited January 22, 2013 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) You sure it was Halisaurus? I was under the impression they maxed out at about 13 feet. All I've seen are tiny. The only US Mosasaur I can think of that would be that big is Tylosaurus. He called it a Halisaurus. This thing dwarfed tylosaurs. Much, much larger. I believe it is in the Heard museum in McKinney TX now. If you can't locate it at the museum, let me know and I will find out where it is now. Edited January 22, 2013 by Boneman007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) Doubtful it was Halisaurus, though. Seems like something was lost in translation. I'll have to look into it. Maybe he was kidding. http://www.trieboldp...aurus-mosasaur/ Edited January 22, 2013 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Jones Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) From what I've seen while researching halisaurus, they don't get much bigger than 10 feet and are one of the smallest species of mosasaurs. I'm certain that you are thinking of hainosaurus, which is one of the largest mosasaurs. It's original size estimate was nearly 60 feet long but is now apparently around 40-50 feet. Edited January 22, 2013 by Clayton Jones My attempt at creating a museum and community center to help people find an interest in the world around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Hey Nick... I can't make out the pix too well, but I was looking at your "additional fish" post. Not sure what I am looking at but could your additional pointy teeth be from the mosasaur's pterygoid bone which is also full of teeth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donckey Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 (edited) Doing a good job. One can only become a pro-prepper by doing a lot of prepping. Maybe I missed it, but where does the Mosa come from? Mosa's from Morocco almost always have lots of other (fish) fossils in their matrix. Edited January 22, 2013 by donckey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donckey Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 You have to decide if you want your prepped Mosa in his matrix. If you do, then do not prep UNDER the bones. Before you know it you remove to much material! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 To JPC: the teeth are far too small to be the pterygoid teeth unless I am mistaken. They should be smaller than the main teeth, but not by much. The fish verts are all relatively the same size, so I am assuming they are from the same individual. At this point it is looking like a partial Mosasaur, a partial fish, and a coprolite of unknown origin. I'll try and get a better shot of the fish material tonight. To Donckey: yes, the Mosasaur is from the Moroccan phosphate beds. And you aren't kidding about undercutting the bones too much. It's easy to get carried away. At this point, unless somebody can successfully convince me otherwise, the specimens are definitely coming out of the matrix. It's cool as-is, but Halisaurus is relatively well-known (little scientific value), and it's just to difficult for most to visualize what it is in "2-d" form. I've contacted a fellow member about obtaining more post-cranial material from donor specimens to make a complete skeleton. In a nutshell, he said it will be difficult, as the post cranial material has little value alone. He's definitely right, so if anybody has leads, I'd be interested. Nick www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Hey Nick, that was just a thought. I had spaced the part about fish vertebrae inthere as well. Yup, looks like you got a bit of a mix of stuff in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clayton Jones Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 The bone the teeth are in isn't shaped like a pterygoid bone. It does resemble a jaw bone I saw online from Xiphactinus, but I'm not an expert. My attempt at creating a museum and community center to help people find an interest in the world around them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 (edited) Alright, here is a photo containing both the mosasaur teeth (at left) and the fish jaw, for comparison. I just moved and don't have access to the light tent or tripod, so the photo has been edited as much as possible to clear things up. Edited January 23, 2013 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 OK... I see it. Looks like pteygoid on the left, and yup, some fish jaw on the right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Nick, I'm not sure if you have Russell's Systematics and Morphology of American Mosasaurs, but I know it will help you become more familiar with the different bones you're prepping. Enjoy. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 To JPC: the teeth are far too small to be the pterygoid teeth unless I am mistaken. The pterygoid teeth in my Platicarpus skull are about 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the largest jaw teeth, so they are considerably smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Doubtful it was Halisaurus, though. Seems like something was lost in translation. I'll have to look into it. Maybe he was kidding. http://www.trieboldp...aurus-mosasaur/ I actually held this one in my hand. 50 lb. verts and teeth that were two inches THICK. The jaw bone was as big around as my forearm. It was MUCH larger than any Tylosaur I have seen (I have assisted in the removal of multiple significant mosasaurs in KS and TX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgrilusHunter Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Hi Nick, This is a really cool fossil, and really cool thread. Thanks for posting! I'm having a blast watching the process. "They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things." -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 From what I've seen while researching halisaurus, they don't get much bigger than 10 feet and are one of the smallest species of mosasaurs. I'm certain that you are thinking of hainosaurus, which is one of the largest mosasaurs. It's original size estimate was nearly 60 feet long but is now apparently around 40-50 feet. That's it! Hainosaurus! Sorry for the confusion. If I could remember half of what I have learned about fossils... sigh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donckey Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) Hi, Part of a Halisarus Mosa I have prepped. Maybe It can have some use as example. In a few days I'll post some pictures of a small piece of Mosa skul + some vertabrea I removed completely from its Matrix. Show some different prepstages and the restoration of one jawside. The removed matrix I do not throw it away but keep it in plastic boxes together with the fishremains and sharkteeth which did go with the mosa. Peter By the way, It is very difficult to obtain mosa in its original matrix and not messed with. So you did a great job obtaining such a great peace. Where did you get it? Edited January 24, 2013 by donckey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 Very, very nice specimen! Feel free to contribute whatever photos you'd like. I got the specimen from a fellow member/dealer. Not sure I'm allowed to say who. At the same time, I don't see why it would matter, but you never know. www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) And, thanks for the reference, John. The other good ones are: 1. A Partial Skeleton of the Basal Mosasaur Halisaurus platyspondylus from the Severn Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Maastrichtian) of Maryland by Robert B Holmes and Hans-Dieter Sues 2. A New Halisaurus from the Late Cretaceous Phosphates of Morocco, and the phylogenetical relationships of the Halisaurinae (Squamata: Mosasauridae) by Nathalie Bardet, Xabier Pereda Suberbiola, Mohamed Iarochene, Baadi Bouya, and Mbarek Amaghzaz. Edited January 24, 2013 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sseth Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Nick Looking good. It is going to be an amazing little guy. One of the best preserved skulls I have come across. Keep up the good work! Seth _____________________________________ Seth www.fossilshack.com www.americanfossil.com www.fishdig.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asteroceras Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Prepped quite a lot of material from Morocco, personally, I would have left it in the matrix. Think marine reptiles only lend themselves to full reconstruction if they have been collected from a clay pit. Think you will struggle to remove it from this hard matrix without damaging it. Really looking forward to how it comes out though if that is what you are planning, quite a project your setting yourself! Progress of my fossil cleaning can be found on my Instagram feed http://instagram.com/gbfossils YouTube for fossil collecting and prep videos https://www.youtube.com/user/GBFossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Thanks for the input, guys! Status update: Since the last post, I've removed several smaller bits, including ribs, an unidentified bone (maybe a digit bone?), and three vertebrae. The first parts being removed from the matrix are the parts to the tail-end of the block. They are in the worst condition, so are good for practice. The verts back there are quite squashed and asymmetrical, but the verts forward of those look to be much nicer. The fragility of the bones was an initial concern, but they are proving to be quite strong, so long as it is taken little-by-little. Remove a bit of matrix, stabilize, remove matrix, stabilize, and so-forth. The project is quickly becoming less daunting. The teeth are what scare me. Those will be close-to-last. Pics to come, probably next week. Nick www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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