The reconstruction of one of the region’s best fossils and the creation of replicas of the mosasaur known as Sid was a labour of love for the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre (CFDC).
A brief ceremony last Thursday unveiled the two replicas—one that will stay at the CFDC and a second one for the Miami Museum.
“It’s a very complete specimen now,” said CFDC executive director Adolfo Cuetara. “I think that we did a very good job with this reconstruction. It’s fairly accurate, so we are happy.
“It takes time, and it takes funds as well to do this, but here is the result,” he added. “We want it to be the most accurate, so it takes a long time to research and to be able to complete the small parts that are missing or broken.”
“The level of detail is what amazes me,” said Joe Brown, president of the Miami Museum. “The teeth, the shape of the jaw. It’s very quite moving to see it.”
The CFDC’s most famous mosasaur named Bruce belongs to the species Tylosaurus pembinensis, but when it was first described by paleontologist Elizabeth Nicholl in 1988, it was largely based on a better preserved and more complete specimen, which was named Sid in honour of Sid Cox, owner of the land it was discovered on.
The Miami Museum approached the CFDC about completing these replicas by using its 3D scanning and printing to reconstruct all the missing parts and for first time ever to have a scientifically accurate reconstruction of the skull.
“The original one was preserved only with 30 to 35 per cent of the skull, so it was a long process, a whole year … and finally we were presenting the skull today,” said Cuetara.
“The specimen was, I would say, neglected when it was found. It was found by people who probably didn’t know the processes,” he noted. “There was a lot of plaster covering all the bones … many bones were not recognizable.”
He originally started some work on its reconstruction in 2017 by starting to put together many missing parts.
Cuetara estimated it overall may have involved some 600 hours of complex and highly skilled work involving 3D scanning and printing, comparison with and use of other cranial elements from other Tylosaurus in the CFDC collection, sculpting of missing parts, collaboration with other scientific institutions, molding with silicone rubber, casting with liquid plastic in roto-casting machine, and even welding.
Now, he noted, the end result could even be available to be temporarily displayed it in other institutions, like the University of Manitoba.
The project was possible thanks to the collaboration of the Miami Museum and funding from the community museum project support program of Manitoba, and the Signature Museums Fund of Manitoba.
Cuetara noted the CFDC aims to keep adding to its displays and exhibits in this way.
“It’s fundamental … trying to improve not only the quality of the displays but also the presence of some specimens that are not on display for lack of materials or lack of space.”
Brown said they appreciate all of the work that went into this project, as well as their partnership with the CFDC.
“We’ve been [working] together for over 10 years … it’s a growing partnership,” he said. “It’s fantastic … all of the work that was done by the people from Miami in preserving it and then starting to restore it, it’s really been progressed by the work of the CFDC … seeing it completed is fantastic, and we’re really looking forward to having the copy of it in our own museum as well as the original bones.”
