I almost gave up on this fossil

From the moment I started, it was clear this wasn’t going to be a quick job. The specimen was riddled with cracks, packed with iron pyrite growth, had hollow fragile legs, and was completely encrusted with barnacles. Every move had to be slow and deliberate to avoid losing key details. In total, the prep took around 20 hours, each evening I did about 30 short sessions. I could only expose a small section at a time before stabilising it with glue and waiting for it to fully dry before continuing. It was a constant cycle of prep, repair, patience, and repeat. The fossil is an extinct species of crab from the late Miocene: Trichopeltarion greggi. In this video you’ll see: • Careful prepping around cracked and fragile areas • Stabilising hollow limbs and weak matrix • Keeping barnacles intact • The slow reveal of a beautifully preserved ancient crab These kinds of fossils really show how much work goes on behind the scenes before a specimen is display-ready. Some preps are quick and satisfying, others are a long game of problem solving, and this one definitely fell into the second category. If you enjoy fossil preparation, palaeontology, and behind-the-scenes restoration work, make sure to like, subscribe, and let me know what fossil you’d like to see next. Thanks for watching! #fossil #fossilprep #museum