New Zealander exposes eight-million-year-old crab fossil enclosed in rock
- 4 years ago
An amateur palaeontologist found an eight-million-year-old crab fossil and manages to uncover it from the rock it was enclosed in.
Morne, from New Zealand, was hunting for fossils when he stumbled upon an "interesting rock which looked like it could have a fossil inside."
"I opened it up back at home by working at it with a hammer, I initially thought it was a fossil crayfish," he added.
The fossil hunter then intricately chips away at the rock in an 11-hour process so the fossil is visible.
"Using my air scribe, I carefully removed the rock from the fossil until it as much of it was exposed as was safe. The fossil was very brittle so I had to use some consolidant to strengthen it. At one point I, I encountered a hollow section of the giant claw which I had to repair with some thick glue and let it cure for 2 days before I could proceed. This is the largest crab claw I have ever found," Morne told Newsflare.
This footage was filmed on May 5.
Morne, from New Zealand, was hunting for fossils when he stumbled upon an "interesting rock which looked like it could have a fossil inside."
"I opened it up back at home by working at it with a hammer, I initially thought it was a fossil crayfish," he added.
The fossil hunter then intricately chips away at the rock in an 11-hour process so the fossil is visible.
"Using my air scribe, I carefully removed the rock from the fossil until it as much of it was exposed as was safe. The fossil was very brittle so I had to use some consolidant to strengthen it. At one point I, I encountered a hollow section of the giant claw which I had to repair with some thick glue and let it cure for 2 days before I could proceed. This is the largest crab claw I have ever found," Morne told Newsflare.
This footage was filmed on May 5.