2015, Southampton:

• Fossils, Footprints and fakes. Mark Graham.
• A brief history of the best collection of fossil fish in the world ‘probably’. Emma Bernard.
• ‘Breaking bad’ bone beds: processing the Downton Bone Bed. Luke Hauser.
• Moulding dinosaur tracks on the banks of the St. Mary River in southwestern Alberta. Donald Henderson.
• Leviathan Rising: A new collections curation initiative from the Star Pit dig. Jeff Liston.
• Preparation of a uniquely preserved turtle from the early Eocene Mo clay formation of northern Denmark. Frank Osbaeck.

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A brief history of the best collection of fossil fish in the world – probably…

Emma Bernard

It has been said by many academic visitors and staff at the Natural History Museum, London (NHM), that the fossil fish collection is one of the best in the world. The collection contains approximately 90,000 specimens from all corners of the globe spanning from the Ordovician to the Pleistocene. Between 1836 to 1884 the Museum acquired thirty eight major collections containing fossil fish. Two of the most important fossil fish collections were purchased by the Museum in the 1880’s; William Willoughby Cole, the 3rd Earl of Enniskillen and Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton. These collections comprised about 17,000 specimens. In 1882 Arthur Smith Woodward joined the Museum and recognised the significance of the Fossil Fish Collection and almost immediately devoted all of his time and efforts into the study of fossil fish, culminating in the four part Catalogue of the Fossil Fishes in the British Museum (Natural History) published between 1989 and 1901. This is still used by many researchers today. Woodward went onto describe nearly 320 type specimens, the majority held in the NHM. Over the next 115 years the collections have continued to be added to and worked on. With many staff members undertaking expeditions to enhance the collections and developing techniques to expose fossils, such as Harry Toombs . The collections are still heavily used by researchers from around the world today and we are still actively adding to the collection. Current curatorial projects involve digitising and making publically available the British Mesozoic holdings.

Fossils, Footprints & Fakes

Mark Graham

The Natural History Museum has undertaken a series of annual field trips to Morocco for collections enhancement purposes. Specimens are collected directly from various locations and also obtained from local collectors and dealers, introduced to the group by trusted local contacts with whom the museum has built a relationship. The 2015 fieldtrip in late February/early March was very eventful, with sudden snowfall and floods encountered, hidden mountainside quarries visited, little publicised dinosaur trackways discovered and fossil fakery by skilled preparators witnessed at first hand. This presentation highlights the scientific value and potential pitfalls of such collaborations.

Breaking bad…bone beds: processing the Downton Bone Bed.

Luke Hauser

Bone beds have often been a focus for micropalaeontological study as the high concentration of fossil material allows vertebrate palaeontologists the returns normally experienced only by nannofossil workers and palynologists. It is not always straightforward to release the fossil material within bone beds and the extraction of microfossils from the Downton Bone Bed of the upper Silurian is particularly challenging. Outlined here is an integrated method for processing this bone bed using liquid paraffin and a microwave oven and a comparison in terms of quality and quantity with material recovered using other techniques. This method has also been used on other bone beds to test its effectiveness. This integrated method allows for the recovery of microvertebrates such as thelodonts, and also internal moulds of ostracodes, brachiopods and early plant material. This integrated method is enabling for the first time study of the Downton Bone Bed’s fossil content.

Moulding dinosaur tracks on the banks of the St. Mary River in southwestern Alberta, Canada

Donald Henderson

During river survey work in 2014, following the extensive 2013 flooding that affected almost all southern Alberta rivers, a new dinosaur tracksite was discovered. Investigation of the site in the spring of 2015 resulted in the discovery of another, even better set of tracks and trackways, and while working on these first two more sets of tracks were found. The blocks of sandstone hosting the tracks are immense, and it was felt that cutting out the tracks was too risky- both for safety of the people involved and the survival of the tracks. Instead, large latex rubber peels, reinforced with an open weave cloth, were made of the tracks. The very hot field conditions – full sun exposure all day with temperatures of 32-36^oC every day made for challenging moulding conditions. The large peels were successfully returned to the museum where a very thin layer of the very strong, fibre glass reinforced plaster will be used to make a cast. The intention is to display these thin casts by hanging them on walls with low angle lighting from the edge of the cast, along with a map illustrating the various.

Leviathan Rising: A new collections curation initiative from the Star Pit dig

Jeff Liston

Over field seasons 2002 and 2003, the most complete specimen of the large suspensionfeeding fish Leedsichthys was excavated from the Star Pit, just outside Whittlesey, one of the last clay brick pits that Alfred Leeds collected from. Consisting of over 2,300 parts, the specimen became known as ‘Ariston’ because it went on and on, rather like the old utility advertisement. It took over 3,100 staff hours to excavate this prodigious quantity of material, achieving the record of the longest single dig for a vertebrate specimen in Europe. In July 2015, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation awarded a grant to Vivacity-Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery through the Museums Association’s Collections Fund, to complete the work on this specimen. The funds for the Leviathan Project will be used for the specimen to be fully curated, with all associated field documentation including excavation maps, field photographs, video dig diaries and specimen registration books. As well as being used for school activities and events, photography will be employed to help create an online exhibition and website, linking to other collections with stores of this animal’s remains around the world. Staff development will occur to ensure the necessary understanding is in place institutionally for long-term access and the global significance of the specimen. As a further part of the legacy from this project, it will provide training for individuals to complete the final stages of preparation, conservation and long-term storage of the final excavated elements of the specimen, completing the work started by Alan Dawn in 2002.

Preparation of a uniquely preserved turtle from the early Eocene Mo clay formation of northern Denmark.

Frank Osbæck

In the spring of 2014 a big block of cement stone concretion was found in Ejerslev Mo clay quarry on the island of Mors situated in the Limfjord, Northern Jutland. It was from the start obvious that it contained parts of the Carapace and limb bones from a turtle. Once in the lab of Museernes Bevaringscenter I Skive, our “normal” procedure of preparing vertebrate fossils was used. First Hammer and chisel, diamond rotating tools and heavy pneumatic tools was used, switching to finer tools when coming closer to the fossil surface, then, normally Acetic acid preparation buffered with Calcium orthophosphate would be used. This was changed when the first traces of a thin carbon layer was discovered. This layer represents preserved skin and is as thin as a pencil line and just as fragile, in itself acid resistant but when on top of soluble carbon carbonate concretion, disappears in a few moments when acid is applied. The skin is finely preserved on parts of the carapace, totally on one of the carapace horn plates and sensationally for this location between the toes of one of the hind legs. The preparation was after this discovery mostly mechanical: scalpel, needles scrapers and pneumatic tools. When finished after a year we have half of the carapace, parts of the pelvis with complete Sacrum, the complete tail and both hind legs almost completely prepared so you see the preserved skin between the toes. It was also possible to collect parts of counter plate with skin impression during the preparation and this is presently being studied by Johan Lindgreen, University of Lund. This specimen will undoubtedly add new understanding to the early Eocene Turtles.