CFDC uses its new 3D printer to create a more accurate fossil display
The most famous resident of the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre collection has undergone a bit of cosmetic surgery.
The lifesize replica of Bruce the mosasaur has had some pieces of its skull replaced with more accurate pieces, a project that became possible with the museum now owning a high quality 3D printing system.
It is a good example of the possibilities that are opened up now through the 3D printing, said executive director Adolfo Cuetara.
“It allows us to do things that were impossible before,” he said. “We could still do some traditional silicon molds … but a problem with the silicon mold is the bone is very fragile. It is a tough process for the bone, and you can damage the bone in the process.
“With the 3D scanning, you are not handling the bone, and it is super accurate and super precise,” Cuetara continued. “You can print hollow replicas that are very lightweight … and you can work easily with them.”
It is fitting to give Bruce some work now in the 50th anniversary of the year when he was discovered at a site just north of Thornhill.
The replica on display in the museum was made about 25 years ago. With a few fossil pieces missing, Cuetara noted there was some guesswork in a few areas, leading to some parts not being as accurate as they could be.
Today, with the benefit of being able to compare to other fossils, they have a better idea of how it all should look, and they now have the capabilities to finish it off more completely and accurately with their 3D printer
“Bruce’s replica is a good replica, and it always was, but we are trying now to improve it with a few of the details we now have about it,” said Cuetara.
They’ve 3D scanned and printed the proper right and left quadrate bones and replaced the old incorrect pieces of Bruce’s skull.
The quadrates are very distinctive bones in mosasaur skulls, Cuetara noted, connecting the lower jaw with the rest of the skull. The quadrates were independently movable in all mosasaurs and acted to protract and retract the lower jaws, providing those marine reptiles a very effective way to grab and swallow big preys.
“We disassembled the skull from the replica and took it apart … now the skull is looking more accurate like how it should be,” Cuetara explained. “In the future, we will be completing all of that … the idea is just to keep what is good and to improve where it is needed.”
They are now also working on scanning part of another famous fossil of the same species as Bruce: the tylosaurus pembinensis specimen on display in the Miami Museum
“We are scanning the skull from this specimen from Miami through the 3D printing and completing the bones that are missing using another specimen,” said Cuetara. “What we will have at the end is the very first accurate reconstruction of the whole skull of a tylosaurus pembinensis. It’s going to be a very good complement to the Bruce exhibit.”
Given it is now 50 years since the discovery of Bruce, Cuetara noted they are making some special plans to mark the occasion this year.
“We are preparing a few events, probably for late spring depending on the melting and how it is going with the terrain,” he said. “It is going to be a surprise. We want to wait until that time, but it’s something that is connecting again with the land where Bruce was found.
“We are also preparing a few documents. We are researching the history of what happened at that time,” he concluded. “It’s really something that we need to tell people, to know the story of Bruce because he has a very unique story.”
