Monthly Archives: August 2012

Solving “Picasso’s” ear problem

Posted on August 31, 2012 by altondooley

When we started preparing the skull of the baleen whale “Picasso” back in 2009 (above) we ran into a small problem in that there were too many tympanic (ear bones) associated with the skull. We eventually found two pairs of … Continue reading →

Posted in "Picasso", "Popeye", Carmel Church mysticetes, Carmel Church Quarry | Leave a comment

New lab equipment

Posted on August 29, 2012 by altondooley

We’ve been limited today in how much lab work we can do, because we’ve rearranged our workspaces to make room for contractors that are upgrading and redirecting the exhaust ductwork in the ceiling. While it’s a minor inconvenience at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Paleontological techniques | Leave a comment

Lake Waccamaw exhibit

Posted on August 26, 2012 by altondooley

Last Friday I drove to Lake Waccamaw State Park in southern North Carolina (above) for an exhibit opening. Four years ago local residents found a whale skull in several feet of water at the bottom of the lake. Through the … Continue reading →

Posted in Museums | 4 Comments

Cataloging

Posted on August 23, 2012 by altondooley

I tend to post mostly about the more exciting parts of my job, such as excavations, preparation, and cool new specimens. I figure most people don’t really want to hear about the endless meetings, the 70+ progress reports I have … Continue reading →

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Popeye’s skull

Posted on August 16, 2012 by altondooley

Just before I left for Carmel Church we opened one of the jackets containing the skull of “Popeye“, a baleen whale from Carmel Church that we collected over five separate excavations during 2008-2009. Volunteers Martha and James began removing sediment … Continue reading →

Posted in "Popeye", Carmel Church mysticetes, Carmel Church Quarry, Chesapeake Group | 2 Comments

Fifth SeAVP Meeting

Posted on August 13, 2012 by altondooley

Last Friday, the fifth annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Vertebrate Paleontology (SeAVP) was held at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. I always enjoy these meetings, in part because there is only one technical session, so I get … Continue reading →

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Carmel Church Day 13

Posted on August 4, 2012 by altondooley

Today was our last day at Carmel Church, and there wasn’t much left to do. Our main task was to make our last jacket, which included several vertebrae and other bones. The jacket is shown above, just before adding the … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmel Church Quarry, Chesapeake Group | 11 Comments

Carmel Church Day 12

Posted on August 3, 2012 by altondooley

We spent today working on the trench around our last jacket, and removing teeth and small bits of bone that didn’t warrant a jacket, such as this nice shark vertebra that Tim pulled out of the west side of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmel Church Chondrichthyans, Carmel Church mysticetes, Carmel Church Quarry, Chesapeake Group | 1 Comment

Carmel Church Day 11

Posted on August 2, 2012 by altondooley

We’re in the home stretch now, and really aren’t looking for new bones. Instead, we’re trying to get out the small bones, and jacket the larger patches. Since the skull fragment we found a few days ago turned out to … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmel Church Chondrichthyans, Carmel Church mysticetes, Carmel Church Quarry, Chesapeake Group | Leave a comment

Carmel Church Day 10

Posted on August 1, 2012 by altondooley

Today we continued trying to isolate the larger bones we’ve found over the last few days. This is a slow process at Carmel Church, because there are always so many small bones and teeth that turn up in the way. … Continue reading →