A fossil hunter in New Zealand filmed a timelapse of the intricate process behind revealing a 35-million-year-old crab encased in rock.

YouTuber Mamlambo records himself using an air scribe to carefully pick away at the concretion that has formed around the fossil.

He told Newsflare: "The video is a timelapse of me prepping a fossil crab from the Eocene period, around 35-million-years-ago.

"The crab is encased in a natural cement called a concretion and I use an air scribe to remove the rock bit by bit.

"The prep took around six hours to complete and I stopped as the crab was very fragile and I didn't want to risk the delicate claws breaking. You can totally remove the crab from the rock, but I prefer keeping them in the rock.

"I use a consolidant, paraloid B72, to strengthen the crab which is what gives it that sheen halfway through the video. This can be reversed afterwards to keep the fossil in the state it was found."

This footage was filmed on October 25 in Gimmerburn

The video is a time-lapse of me prepping a fossil crab from the Eocene period, around 35-million-years-ago. The crab is encased in a natural cement called a concretion and I use an air scribe to remove the rock bit by bit.

I am giving away this crab on my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ikg2OBYICM. Entries close 2 Nov at midday NZST.

The prep took around 6 hours to complete and I stopped as the crab was very fragile and I didn't want to risk the delicate claws breaking. You can totally remove the crab from the rock, but I prefer keeping them in the rock.

I use a consolidant, paraloid B72, to strengthen the crab which is what gives it that sheen halfway through the video. This can be reversed afterwards to keep the fossil in the state it was found.