Fossil Preparation - Massive Ichthyosaur Jaw from Yorkshire Jurassic Coast (180 million years old)

This is the time lapse fossil preparation of a partial Ichthyosaur skull (possibly a very large Stenopterygius) which dates to the Jurassic 180 million years ago. This was found on a beach along the Yorkshire Coast and took around 12hrs to prep. The list of tools used during this preparation are detailed below.
If you want to see more of these fossil prep videos, feel free to subscribe or watch my fossil prep series playlist at: • Fossil Preparation Series
Pnuematic air scribes (linked to large air compressor):
Zoic Palaeotech ZPT T-Rex pen - Great for bulk matrix removal (low pressure 40PSI)
Paleotools ME-9100 - Air tool with pointed stylus used to get closer to the bone & teeth
Zoic Palaeotech ZPT Microraptor - Fine detail tool for detailed cleaning
Consolidants:
3-4% Paraloid B72 & acetone - penetrates into the smallest of fractures to give the bone strength.
#fossilpreparation #Ichthyosaur #yorkshirefossils

[@elenatheexotic]

I've been looking for a content like this for ages, I'm so glad i've found your channel 😍 It's amazing to see your process, I'm learning a lot! And credits to you for explaining what you're doing and not only playing a silly song over the video. I would really like to see more of the technicallities of your work, and more closeups, so we could see, for example, the rock chipping to reveal a very beautiful tooth. That would be so satisfying! Keep your good work, and thank you for your content! ♥️

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks Elena for your feedback. That's really nice to hear. Yes, I'll do a few more close-ups next time and perhaps in slow-mo so you can see the rock chip away from the fossil.

[@chantalgrosser5286]

Only now found your videos. So good to see work done with bone/fossils from the UK x

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks for finding the channel and watching. These British specimens are always the best to work on!

[@zoicpalaeotech]

Great video! Brilliant step by step explanation of what you're doing and why. Psst..nice tools too :D

[@PalaeoArt]

Well thanks very much. That T Rex pen you make is hands-down the best "hard-rock-busting-tool" I've ever used! It smashes through the matrix.

[@Max-pj4ok]

Amazing Jaw!

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks very much. Yes, it's come out really nicely from what was an ugly looking lump of rock.

[@caterina8787]

marvellous, how could you guess there was “so much” inside!

[@PalaeoArt]

Great question. Well although the initial rock looked very ugly, you could see large sections of bone running right through it and they had the shape of Ichthyosaur jaws. The gamble paid off!

[@The_NerdGuy]

@@PalaeoArt Thank you sir. I am overwhelmed watching this. (This is the best part of youtube.) 😀

[@MsMadiSaurus]

Amazing stuff as always!

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks very much. Glad you like it as much as I enjoyed doing it!!

[@valiantwarrior4517]

Very cool. Thanks for the video!

[@animals.as.teachers9439]

Fascinating

[@alexandermelchers1497]

Really nice prep again! I'm learning a lot from your excellent explanations! As to the species, if the teeth are smooth, it's a _Stenopterygius_ sp., as both _Ichthyosaurus_ spp. and most _Temnodontosaurus_ spp. have teeth with plicidentine enamel folds, while those _Temnodontosaurus_ species that do not have explicitly or clearly identifiable folds have much broader teeth and carinae...

[@fossil_holic]

Awesome!!

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks very much. Glad you like it.

[@Agust_vs711]

Awesome work , love the narration very informative

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks for the feedback and glad you like it. Always difficult to know how much to talk and how much to let folks watch.

[@Agust_vs711]

I personally thought it was the right amount of narration . keep up the great work .

[@Geribuny]

Oh lovely I've recently been into paleontology and restorations. And this came up on my recommended. I would ask if you could consider lengthening your videos you have so much footage already it doesn't always need to be so sped up especially when most of the otters rock has been chipped away and a lot of viewers enjoy watching the reveal process in detail. A close up of your work would also be appreciated. 🥰

[@PalaeoArt]

Thanks for the feedback and glad you like the videos. I'll make sure to include some close up details in the next one. I've just changed my lighting rig in the workshop which could help with this!

[@fossil-freak_tom]

superb....

[@PalaeoArt]

Glad you like it. I’m really pleased with how this ended up.

[@limoucheu8522]

Great chance to be a Temnodontosaurus.

[@jacobshearing7634]

What should I put on my ammonites and bones to protect them or will they be fine??

[@krakagunnarsdottir831]

✨✨✨💖💖

[@animals.as.teachers9439]

Will you be able to go back and remove more matrix afther paraloid d72 is applied?. I read acetone is used to soften the matrix and in this case is used to bond fossil particles when combined with paraloid b72.

[@ignacioaraneda3628]

great video!, excuse me do you have like a document or something to distinguish the type of ichthyosaur? im working with a similar piece for my grad and i need to establish at least a criteria for the family.

[@iainking4256]

Hi again, now this is no doubt a dumb question, but the place this jaw/skull was found is there any chance that the rest of the jaw would be somewhere close or even near. I am just wondering about the chance of putting the whole jaw together. The young fellows from Yorkshire have been lucky over the last three years or so and found three adjoining pieces, as has the other young guy. Now this is just a “I wonder if you can do this” type of question as it would be great if it could be done, and one end looks reasonably newly broken. Anyway great video keep these coming, you are the man. Cheers from kangaroo land.

[@PalaeoArt]

It's a great question Iain and the answer is absolutely yes. I've another complete Ichthyosaur skull which was found in 4 large pieces by 4 different collectors about 20 years ago - It's now all back together. I didn't personally find the one above but I'm sure the other parts of the skull would have been there as the breaks were clean. They've either been washed away by the sea, still in the cliff or picked up by other collectors (as they would have been pretty obvious on the beach given the size). The latter is the most obvious and a few people have already been in touch putting suggestions forward for the missing parts. There's a few good candidates out there but it's only when you get them next to each other do you see whether they really match up!

[@iainking4256]

@@PalaeoArt Do you have a photo of the skull that was found by the four collectors. As bad as this sounds hearing that there may be a chance to find the missing pieces of the latest skull, really makes your channel a must watch. Looking forward to more of your work. Cheers from the land of very nasty snakes.

[@fossilfinderuk54]

Hi I have a small block from Yorkshire also containing Ichthyosaurus ribs . Can I ask you you wet the bone as you go ..

[@emanuelgalvan3588]

Of course I know Ichthyosaurs. Also known as Fish lizard.

[@slevemcdichael4481]

what's that funnel on the top left for?

[@PalaeoArt]

Great question. That's my dust extractor. It's connected to ducting and a big ventilation system to ensure the dust heads out of the air and out of the building.

[@CarlosPereira-lh4ng]

What is the brand and caracteristics of your airscribes.

[@PalaeoArt]

Hi Carlos. Check out the description for all of the brand names of the tools. Each has their own specialist work and I've listed a few of their primary uses in the description. Hope that helps.

[@CarlosPereira-lh4ng]

@@PalaeoArt Thank You very much, in Portugal is very hard to find good equipement. It it is to be used for fossiles and clean concretions on a roman mosaic floor...

[@CarlosPereira-lh4ng]

Sorry, my english is not good, thanks for yuor help

[@veex35]

what that tube use for?

[@PalaeoArt]

The big silver tube is a dust extractor. An essential bit of kit when dealing with rock dust!

[@Agust_vs711]

Great video , do you have an Instagram?