Excavation of Tom Stidham's turtle 1/5 Location: The Langston zone, Rattlesnake Drainage, Big Bend National Park, TX Year: 1994 Merckslides catalogue number: 06-17140 Comments: The following images trace the steps in the field recovery of a vertebrate fossil. Step 1: The specimen is exposed and trenched.

Excavation of Tom Stidham's turtle 2/5 Location: The Langston zone, Rattlesnake Drainage, Big Bend National Park, TX Year: 1994 Merckslides catalogue number: 06-17141 Comments: Step 2: Separator is applied to the specimen. Trenching continues.

Excavation of Tom Stidham's turtle 3/5 Location: The Langston zone, Rattlesnake Drainage, Big Bend National Park, TX Year: 1994 Merckslides catalogue number: 06-17142 Comments: Step 3: Plaster bandages are applied on top of separator. Trenching continues.

Excavation of Tom Stidham's turtle 4/5 Location: The Langston zone, Rattlesnake Drainage, Big Bend National Park, TX Year: 1994 Merckslides catalogue number: 06-17143 Comments: Step 4: The specimen is fully bandaged. The trench is expanded to create a pedestal.

Excavation of Tom Stidham's turtle 5/5 Location: The Langston zone, Rattlesnake Drainage, Big Bend National Park, TX Year: 1994 Merckslides catalogue number: 06-17145 Comments: Step 4: The specimen is pulled from the pedestal and inverted. It is now ready for transport. A larger specimen might now be plastered on top, as well. In a large specimen, timbers can be incorporated in the jacket.

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