Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2014
Poster Presentation
Extraction and Preparation of Jurassic Sauropod Fossil
Hunter Starr
Faculty Mentor: Thomas Hegna
Geology
About thirty years ago, the Department of Geology received a donation of a dinosaur
fossil. The fossil was collected sometime in the early 1900s from the Jurassic Morrison
Formation in the western US. The identity of the fossil was a mystery. It is
unquestionably a dinosaur, and circumstantial evidence points toward an identification
as some part of a large, long-necked dinosaur—a sauropod like Diplodocus.
The goal of this project has been to prepare and study this fossil. The fossil, once fully
prepared, will be properly analyzed and identified for its anatomical position and species
it represents. The fossil will provide scientific insight into the species it represents and
will provide a great addition to the Geology Department’s museum for educational
purposes.
To complete this goal, we have been utilizing a handheld air chisel attached to an air
compressor in order to carefully remove bits of surrounding rock matrix and plaster
‘jacket’ that still encase the fossil. Once this overlying layer is removed, a hard, clear
resin is applied to protect the fossil. So far, about forty plus hours have been put into
this process, with an estimated two hundred or more hours remaining until the fossil is
complete in its preparation.