Mission Statement To provide the highest quality paleontological specimens and services to museums and the public.

Introduction Larson Paleontology Unlimited (LPU) is an earth science company specializing in fossil preparation, conservation, and consultation, providing fossil specimens and services to museums, institutions, and amateur and professional collectors. LPU's experienced staff conducts fossil resource exploration, collection, evaluation, consultation, conservation, and custom preparation.

Paleontological Specimens We excel in offering some of the finest prepared invertebrate fossils ever collected. All our fossils come with the most up-to-date scientific names and locality information available. Our specimens are scientifically accurate (when restored) and are guaranteed to educate, enlighten, and excite. LPU concentrates on fossil specimens from the Western Interior, primarily South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, but we also offer a wide variety of fossils from across North America and around the world.

Summary Neal, along with his sons Luke and Leif, are expert preparators with more than 80 years of combined experience in paleontological conservation. Together, they own and operate Larson Paleontology Unlimited, a fossil preparation, conservation, and consultation company working with museums, amateurs, professionals, and institutions. Neal leverages his 50 years of experience to advise individuals, corporations, non-profits, and others on how to identify, develop, preserve, curate, display, purchase, or sell their fossil resources.

Staff

Neal L. Larson Neal L. Larson has collected rocks, minerals, and fossils since childhood and has spent his entire adult life (over 50 years) in for-profit paleontological businesses, collecting and preparing fossils for sale to museums and collectors worldwide. He is skilled in the preparation, restoration, and conservation of all types of fossils, from invertebrates to dinosaurs. He has provided dinosaur skeletons, casts, and a variety of other fossils to numerous museums worldwide. Neal holds a B.S. in Geology (1977) from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD, and has authored more than 100 publications and abstracts in paleontology, covering ammonites to dinosaurs.

Neal was a partner, collector, and preparator at Black Hills Minerals from 1974 until its incorporation as Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Inc. (BHI) in 1978. From May 1978 to September 2012, he was co-owner and vice-president of BHI, overseeing most major preparation projects, including osteology and restoration of dinosaur, reptile, mammal, and invertebrate fossils. His projects include:

• Four Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons (Stan, Duffy, Bucky, and Wyrex)
• Kelsey the Triceratops and five additional Triceratops skulls
• Ten Edmontosaurus skeletons
• The largest and most complete Acrocanthosaurus atokensis skeleton
• Struthiomimus, Gorgosaurus, Maiasaura, Julieraptor, and Bambiraptor skeletons
• Several mosasaurs
• Several large Cretaceous fish
• Dozens of mammal skulls and skeletons, including the largest mounted Columbian Mammoth skeleton (Dee) at the Tate Museum in Casper, Wyoming

Neal has participated in numerous major paleontological excavations, including:

• Todd County Mastodon (1976)
• The largest fossil fish from North America (1978)
• The Ruth Mason Dinosaur Quarry (1979–1991)
• Sue T. rex dig (1990)
• Stan T. rex dig (1992)
• Duffy T. rex dig (1993)
• Kelsey Triceratops dig (1998)
• Waugh Jurassic Dinosaur dig (1999–2010)
• Bucky T. rex dig (2001)
• Wyrex T. rex dig (2004)
• Lane Triceratops dig (2004)
• Darwin T. rex dig (2013)

Museums he has helped supply with significant paleontological exhibits include the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, Houston, TX; The Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life, Lehi, UT; Indianapolis Children's Museum, Indianapolis, IN; Memphis Pink Palace Museum, Memphis, TN; and the Museum at Black Hills Institute, Hill City, SD.

Luke A. Larson Luke A. Larson has spent his entire life collecting and working with his father, Neal, on fossil collection and preparation. He is a skilled preparator with over 23 years of experience in all aspects of fossil preparation, restoration, mounting, molding, and casting. He specializes in perfecting the preparation and restoration of dinosaur bones, teeth, and claws, and enjoys preparing intricate and delicate species of ammonites, crinoids, and trilobites. Luke spent much of 2013 on the Darwin T. rex dig and many summers on the Waugh Jurassic Dinosaur dig (2000–2010). He also contributed to the mounting and restoration of numerous reptile and dinosaur skeletons for the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences. Additionally, Luke spent a year working as a geologist in the Bakken Formation oil fields of the Williston Basin.

Leif A. Larson Leif A. Larson has spent most of his life collecting fossils and working with his father, Neal. He is a meticulous ammonite preparator with over 15 years of experience, specializing in ammonite and dinosaur bone cleaning and restoration. His expertise includes the intricate preparation of ammonite septal walls. Leif has also spent several years working in the molding and casting of fossils. He earned a degree as an Environmental Engineering Technician from Western Dakota Tech, Rapid City, SD, in 2016.