More snow came and managed to push off the start date of the season for a bit longer. Long range forecast doesn't see much of a warmth breakaway for early March, but long range forecasts are about as reliable as a paper bag to hold water. So it is indoor stuff for longer. I have been doing the less than glamourous work of deep dive satellite and document prospecting, compiling lists, dropping pins, plotting route logistics, that sort of thing. I hope to break a heck of a lot of rock this season. I did get my Waldron shale pieces recently. Here's three unprepared Calymene breviceps: I knew what i was getting into with these with the warning that these might not turn out. And, it turned out that at least one is just a thorax, and the other seems disarticulated (but a bit more time will tell). So that leaves the one, pictured on the far right. This one is doing its peekaboo / foldover posture. It's also on a bit of a thin flake of matrix, so additional care is required. Daredevil me did not add any consolidant to prevent accidents, but I was lucky. Although this is a shale, it can also be very sticky stuff. There is a wee bit of separation along the suture lines. Pardon the shine -- I add a bit of consolidant after. It's all there -- eyes, cheeks. I reduced the matrix a bit further, but left just enough for a "perch." My abrasion unit was working terribly (as usual) for most of this prep, but miraculously became perfect in flow/regulation at the tail end while I was focusing on the stubborn areas. It's not a stunner due to orientation, but it's a suitable example. Also, while probing some of my northern Ontario plates under the scope, you never know what is completely buried under the scrabbly dolostone matrix until you take the time to probe. One wonders just how many treasures are left in the field on account of the lousy separation where so much remains concealed! Anyhow, on the left is the cephalon of a Distyrax sp. that I'll need to spend time uncovering at some point, and on the right is a very tiny, yet almost complete, Rielaspis elegantula. It has some articulation and crush problems, but it may turn out ok once it is complete. As an added bonus, it appears just below the ventral pygidium of a rare scutellid, so a pretty nice association.
Of course, there may be more. I've only to keep checking. If my wonder plate of Rielaspis is any indication, where it went from four visible specimens to fifteen, then it's possible. But, time to get back at it -- research prospecting and prep! Comments are closed.
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Kane Faucher
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February 2024
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