Abstract
The recovery, preparation, and conservation of fossil remains found in the late Miocene Baynunah Formation, Abu Dhabi, present special challenges. In this chapter, field experiences are covered, and solutions are proposed for some of the challenges for the recovery and conservation of fossils in this sandy desert environment. This chapter provides paleontologists and those concerned with Abu Dhabi’s fossil heritage, whether in the field or the laboratory, with suggestions for best practices in the collection, preparation, molding and casting, and long-term conservation of this evidence of past life.
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References
Bibi, F., Beech, M. J., Hill., A., & Kraatz, B. (2022). Fossil localities of the Baynunah Formation. In F. Bibi, B. Kraatz, M. J. Beech, & A. Hill (Eds.), Sands of Time: Ancient life in the late Miocene of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (pp. 9–22). Springer.
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to Walter Joyce for encouraging me to begin this adventure, to Jacques Gauthier and the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History for continued support of our work in Abu Dhabi, to Mark Beech and Faysal Bibi for their ongoing interest and work on the specimens and what they can tell us about past life, and finally to all that I have met and worked with collecting and preparing the fossils of Abu Dhabi. Fieldwork support was provided by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (formerly the Authority for Cultural and Heritage) and the Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History.
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Fox, M. (2022). Excavation and Conservation of Fossils from the Baynunah Formation. In: Bibi, F., Kraatz, B., Beech, M.J., Hill, A. (eds) Sands of Time. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83883-6_5
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