An amateur palaeontologist found an eight-million-year-old crab fossil and manages to uncover it from the rock it was enclosed in.

Morne, from New Zealand, was hunting for fossils when he stumbled upon an "interesting rock which looked like it could have a fossil inside."

"I opened it up back at home by working at it with a hammer, I initially thought it was a fossil crayfish," he added.

The fossil hunter then intricately chips away at the rock in an 11-hour process so the fossil is visible.

"Using my air scribe, I carefully removed the rock from the fossil until it as much of it was exposed as was safe. The fossil was very brittle so I had to use some consolidant to strengthen it. At one point I, I encountered a hollow section of the giant claw which I had to repair with some thick glue and let it cure for 2 days before I could proceed. This is the largest crab claw I have ever found," Morne told Newsflare.

This footage was filmed on May 5.

While out fossil hunting in New Zealand, I found an interesting rock on the beach which looked like it could have a fossil inside it. I opened it up back at home by working at it with a hammer, I initially thought it was a fossil crayfish. Using my air scribe, I carefully removed the rock from the fossil until it as much of it was exposed as was safe. The fossil was very brittle so I had to use some consolidant to strengthen it. At one point I, I encountered a hollow section of the giant claw which I had to repair with some thick glue and let it cure for 2 days before I could proceed.

Total time spent was about 11 hours.

This is the largest crab claw I have ever found. I prepped it while keeping the rock lid intact so it appears as I found it and I can then open it to reveal the giant claw inside.

Please refer to me by Mamlambo and link back to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mamlambo and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamlambo_nz/

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