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Is this Mosasaur jaw a composite?
jikohr posted a topic in Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications
Hi everyone! I'm hoping for a second opinion on this Mosasaur jaw. The parts look real to me, my question is did they all come from the same jaw. The jaw is 65 cm, so a pretty decent size. What do you all think? is it a composite? Any insight is appreciated as always! -
Between the weather and my busy schedule, I haven't been able to get out into the field, so I have been fossil-hunting in my mailbox. I bought a small collection of pieces that was something of a mish-mash. The labeling sucks. Some of the labels are missing and some are mixed up. This tooth did not have a label. It was mixed in with dinosaur material, including a sauropod eggshell fragment from South America, some hadrosaur bone fragments from the western US, and some Moroccan fossils. I don't know where this piece came from - it could be Morocco, it could be South America, it could be the US, or..... It measures 50mm long x 11mm wide at the base. It doesn't appear to be glued or repaired, but looks like it was sealed with some kind of butvar or poly. Does anyone know what critter this tooth is from? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! MikeG
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Tooth measures .83 inches and wasfound in Asfla, Goulmima, Morocco at the Akrobou Formation. From what I’ve read this is either Thililua or Manemergus Anguirostris and the seller wasn’t 100% sure.
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I would like to hear opinions what would be smartest thing to do. I have couple pieces from Morocco Ouled Abdoun basin that have freepiece shark teeth in them. Problem is that other shark tooth is perfectly under the piece, other one visible at wrong side at the edge. I was thinking could I remove bottom one by using rock carving tool and perhaps scrape other one bit more visible? Or should I leave them be? What are the risks because I have no experience with prepping?
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Hello I will tag you @piranha as I think you are the trilobite master. This is not a typical I have a fossil to ID post, is more why I see to different trilobites often tages as drotops armatus. What I am missing? Is there an explanation? When I think of a drotops armatus, this is what I typically expect. The main thing I see here is kind of long spikes and in the center section of the trilobite, the spikes are in pairs. But then, you sometimes find this also labeled as Drotops armatus: I did some research and seems to be 4 subspecies or forms? D. armatus Struve, 1995 D. a. accurata Struve, 1995 D. a. perspinosa Struve, 1995 D. a. armata Struve, 1995 D. a. hoplites Struve, 1995 But I can't find more information. Is there some paper or place where this is described? I can't find the original paper
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Symphyseal/Parasymphyseal Otodus obliquus Teeth from Morocco
MarcoSr posted a topic in Member Collections
I rarely buy shark teeth, but I saw a lot (see below picture) of small shark teeth from Morocco for sale on FB. I could see a good number of Otodus obliquus symphyseal teeth in the pictures of the lot, and one tooth that looked like an Otodus obliquus lower parasymphyseal tooth. Lower Otodus obliquus parasymphyseal teeth are much rarer than the symphyseal teeth. Per a personal conversation with Lutz Andres, based upon his research Otodus obliquus symphyseal teeth are probably 10 times more common than the lower parasymphyseal teeth. The opposite is true for Parotodus. I bought the lot and just received the teeth. I sent pictures to Lutz of a good number of the teeth, and we agreed that there were 16 symphyseal teeth and one parasymphyseal tooth in the lot. It can be very difficult to differentiate Moroccan Otodus from Parotodus teeth, and only large size can confidently rule out Parotodus teeth. However, in the Moroccan Khouribga faunas, Otodus obliquus are much more common than Parotodus. Group picture of the lot of teeth: Two symphyseal teeth: Symphyseal Otodus obliquus tooth, Khouribga, Morocco 21 mm SH Symphyseal Otodus obliquus or Parotodus tooth, Khouribga, Morocco 10 mm SH Parasymphyseal tooth: Parasymphyseal Otodus obliquus or Parotodus tooth, Khouribga, Morocco13 mm SH Marco Sr.- 2 replies
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From the album: Fossil Collection: DC Area and Beyond
Actinocyathus sp. Western Sahara, Morocco Djebel Ouarkziz Formation Carboniferous (Early Pennsylvanian) -
From the album: Fossil Collection: DC Area and Beyond
Micraster sp. Taouz, Morocco Unknown Late Cretaceous-
- micraster sp.
- morocco
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From the album: Fossil Collection: DC Area and Beyond
Heliophora sp. Boujdour, Morocco Unknown Miocene/Pliocene-
- heliophora sp.
- miocene
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Hello, thoughts on this. Supposedly a Pliosaur tooth, from Atlas Mountains Morocco. But is it Pliosaur or Plesiosaur? cheers
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Hi all! The past year, in the little spare time I had as a father of a 1-year old, I made illustrations of Moroccan dinosaurs on my iPad. I have shared some of these on this forum before, but I made some changes (hopefully improvements) to most of these, and some of them I have not shared before. The animals are all based on the designs of the Kem Kem dinosaur poster I made last year. Here is the complete set: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus Deltadromeus agilis Carcharodontosaurus saharicus Rebbachisaurus garasbae Rugops primus Some dromaeosaurids Some sauropods
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So I got this tooth recently listed vaguely as a mosasaur tooth. I was wondering what genus it was from. All I know about location is that it was sourced from somewhere in Morocco.
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Fossilized jaw, gifted to me by my aunt this christmas.
75millionyearsago posted a topic in Fossil ID
The jaw is pictured here- the enamel on the teeth does glint as expected, and there are fragments of shell throughout the matrix. Partially obscured portions of the left side of the jaw also show it was crushed as it fossilized, which all to me indicates the matrix is real. The jaw was sourced from Morocco by my aunt from a trusted seller she works with frequently, so i’m not SUPER worried about its authenticity. That said, if you think something is up, do tell! I’m led to believe it belongs to genus Enchodus, but the angle of the frontal tooth alongside the shortness of the jaw has me really unsure, and is leaving little inklings of doubt about it being real. i also attached a photo of an ammonite i am 100% sure is real but am hoping for a second opinion on my ID as an Agadir ammonite. -
The jaw is from the phosphates of oued zem and measures 40cm more or less. It's a juvenile thalassotitan atrox or it's another species? Thanks! @Praefectus @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon
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Hello! This is my first post so be gentle I have a vertebrae from Morocco here that i cant seem to figure out. The owner of the collection I'm examining recalls purchasing it from Morocco, but doesn't recall if it comes from the Kem Kem beds or from the High Atlas Mountains. After some dusting and light acetone cleaning was able to determine that it is in fact a vertebra, but I'm not sure of the species, as the piece is slightly deformed and lacks processes. My best guess so far is a sauropod caudal vertebra, possibly Rebbachisaurus, but I'm having difficulty in finding any reputable sources that would confirm this. I could also understand if it came from a large theropod, but has lost its shape due to deformation. Sadly, most of my expertise is with Hell Creek fossils, so I'd really appreciate any help that can be offered Lastly, if the piece is of any significance (undescribed or poorly described species) it will most likely be donated to the local museum! So that would be cool. Thanks again!
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Tips in Purchasing a Spinosaurid Hand Claw
Troodon posted a topic in Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications
The past few weeks at the Tucson Fossil I ran across a few fake Spinosaur claws but also was surprised how many good ones there were on the market. I also understand the issues with online claws so decided to put this topic out to help collectors gain a better understanding of them since they are very expensive. These are my opinions and welcome others since no one person as all the answers. There is no bullet proof approach you can take to insure you have a claw that is not totally fake or composited. There are some things you need to consider. - First try dealing with what I call preferred Moroccan merchants, those are typically found at big shows and a few have online or FB sites, ones that specialize in Moroccan material are the best. They typically know what to look for and can point out issues with claws. Makes life a bit harder to get one but you want a good claw don't you. This does not take you off the hook its still YOUR responsibility to know what you are buying. - Unless you are an expert never buy one from Auction site. If you see one that interest you see seek assistant from an expert, not a collector friend, or post it here on the forum we have lots of opinions here. - 2D photos are not always the best to see what is going on with a claw, I prefer handling one. Composited claws can be good and photos don't show you all the issues. - Good preservation and quality are key for making life easy in deciding if its a good claw or not. There is where it pays to focus on the better claws. Claws that are deformed, partial, compressed, beat up or have matrix on them are very difficult to insure you have a good one and especially hard for experts to positively say its good. It always best to save and wait to buy a higher end one. - As a general rule try avoid claws that have matrix glued on them or have seams with matrix. The matrix is there for only one reason to hid trouble. Matrix is a red flag, just tread carefully when looking at one of these. Ask yourself why risk it and buy a potentially problem claw, there are plenty out there that are clean. PRICE = Preservation (Quality) + Size - Repairs - Real claws are expensive, simple as that. So if you see inexpensive big claws there must be a reason unless its the deal of a century and they exist. Most of the claws I show are in the 1-2K range for 4-6 inches. Here are a few from the Tucson show to give you an understanding what real ones look like. Focus on shape, the articulation end, blood grooves and preservation. These two are clean no matrix, no compression may have been broken and reattached, reasonable preservation. Nice claws for any collection Higher Grade - Fatter, nice surface finish, good preservation, few if any repairs. Couple of more examples. Honest merchant shows, some repair and resto. Excellent high end claw around 7 inches very very expensive Fake Claws These two were laying in the box and the merchant said he just had them fabricated. They look pretty good to a novice both reasonable size and configuration. Probably copied from a good one. Red Flags : Check out the graining its does not follow the curve of the claw but is straight. Uniform Color and looks too clean. Finish is flat with no hit of sheen seen on bone. Super long ones are the most suspect, here are two in a box. Unusually long and thin, usually the dorsal curvature is not smooth to the tip has kinks, the preservation is odd, hard to see bone, lots of surface repairs. These may be composited, faked or combo? Who knows to risky to find out. Off an auction site - terrible fake easier to spot- 6.9 inch claw One of the hardest items to replicate is the blood groove that is on either side of the claw. The groove is the widest at the articulation end and slowly tapers to a point to form a channel at the tip that extends outward beyond the dorsal surface. Here is an example of a perfectly preserved one. Here is the tip of the claw from above and you can see the blood groove is just a channel in the claw. Another Characteristic on these claws is that when looked at from the top or bottom they are shaped like an isosceles triangle. Much bigger at the articulation end than the tip. Preservation may affect this but most should be tapered. Like most theropods, hand claws vary depending on digit so there will be variations depending on that and the number of different Spinosaurids that exist in Kem Kem. This is a big unknown and we believe these type of claws all belong to the Spinosaurid family. But here are a couple more you can check out the blood grooves, articulation and shape More Examples of Fake Hand Claws: Bottom side is not a smooth curve, blood groove changes size, surface finish is odd not bonelike Carved but with an very poorly shaped deep blood groove Carved in multiple sections and shape is off, front end should not be that curved Photo provided by Jim Kirkland Carved, Composited etc Badly carved claw The following are all carved, examine how poorly the blood grooves are made.- 20 replies
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Dear All, One of the first fossils I acquired (this year) was a small Mosasaur jaw piece from Morocco. The dealer who I bought it from wasn't entirely sure of the species but carefully suggested it was Mosasaurus beaugei. Having now seen some teeth of M. beaugei, I'm not at all certain this identification is correct Rather, to my untrained eye, it seems to match more closely with some examples of Eremiasaurus heterodontus teeth I've found online. I'm far from an expert, however, so any help would be much appreciated! I have no exact location for where the piece was found, other than 'Spanish Sahara Morocco'. The teeth are between 22 and 26 mm long. Kind regards, Nick
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Hello, all. I obtained this gorgeous little trilobite in one of my best-ever haggling deals in Agadir a few years back. The names keep changing, so first of all, am I right in thinking this is now the genus Belenopyge? Or is it Acanthopyge (Belenopyge)? And is the species bassei or estevei? Hypostome? Thanks for taking a look and extra thanks for any constructive or friendly comments. Scott @piranha , Kane @Kane?
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From the album: Fossil Collection: DC Area and Beyond
Prognathodon sp. Oulad Abdoun Basin, Morocco Phosphate Deposits Late Cretaceous-
- prognathodon sp.
- phosphate
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From the album: Fossil Collection: DC Area and Beyond
Aidachar pankowskii Kem Kem Basin, Morocco Kem Kem Group Late Cretaceous-
- aidachar pankowskii
- kem kem
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From the album: Fossil Collection: DC Area and Beyond
Heliophora sp. Boujdour, Morocco Unknown Miocene/Pliocene-
- heliophora sp.
- echinoid
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From the album: Fossil Collection: DC Area and Beyond
Basilosaurus sp. Western Sahara, Morocco Unknown Eocene-
- basilosaurus sp.
- whale
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Purchased these two little friends in Alnif and unfortunately I can't find the information about them (species, locale). I think I remember the black one from the Ordovician or Devonian, and possibly the other from the Fezouata Formation. Perhaps someone here will know more. I know the black one was prepped personally by the seller in Alnif and I think he did the other as well. I'm going to keep looking as I was sure I recorded the info somewhere.