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Hello, I saw this Spinosaurus jaw for sale today and wondered If its real or fake. It appears to be glued or a bit reconstructed and not very well preserved, but also looks a bit off to me (texture, shape) One small tooth is still in place, and suprisingly, it looks more genuine. But lets hear what you think about it. It was found in the Kemkem beds, morocco.

Hello, I saw this moroccan Plesiosaurus skull for sale today and wondered If its genuine or not. Some teeth are missing which I think wouldnt if its completly fake to make it more valuebale, and the overall look is good to me, but im not an expert on moroccan fakes but if its one, its definitly better than the usual composite skulls. It was apparently found in Ben Grier, morocco.

According to someone I know. Bought this claw as an unrestored handclaw of a dromaeosaur from the Morrison formation. Near Casper. Just under 3" long. He bought without any hesitation and I am very skeptical of it. What are you guys thoughts? Again. I am definitely not buying it, just wondering.

Hello, ive seen many of those british "dinosaur footprints" from Sussex and wondered if they're real casts that formed naturally or just funny shaped stones that someone interpreted a Dino-footprint in. In case you dont know what im talking about : The bottom one was identfied as ankylosaurid, all others werent identfied. If someone knows if theyre real or not, or if there are some scientific papers about them that you can link in the replies, Thanks !

Hello, now that I have time, I decided to create a small guide on how to recognize fake, painted and carved amphibians from the permian of europe. In this guide, you'll find examples of fake or heavily restored, or painted amphibians compared to real ones, and you will also learn some of the most common red flags on them. I hope you like it and that it will help many people not falling into amphibian traps ! Enjoy ! 1.0 Apateon pedestris (Credits: online auction site) This was done in the same way as your toddlers' paintings on the fridge (if you have a fridge or a toddler). The "bones" are probably drawn with a pencil and the preservation of the skin shadows is nothing more than some clear paint. If you look closely, no bones are evident. Here are some good examples, the first being from my collection. Now compare this to the previous one. Horrible! 1.1 1.2 Example of a perfect skull. See the difference? (Credits: Thomas Billert, Steinkern.de) Heres an example of a sideway skin shadow. Skin shadows should always follow the bones whith a bit of distance, and should feel stony and look not like clear paint. 1.3 (Credit: online auction site) 1.4 Perfect skin shadow, sligthly preserved (Credit: online auction site) 1.5 How a skeleton of Apateon should look like (Credit: Jürgen A. Boy) 2.0 Sclerocephalus haeuseri (Credits: @Amontano) That's partially real, but not, not, not much of it. The paper shale it was found in is not known for creating great skin shadows and preserving bones and limbs. That's why many amphibian fossils found in it look the same. To make it look like if they still have all their skin, bones and limbs, in most cases they are painted or, for 3D preservation, reconstructed with modeling clay and then painted to match the overall look. 2.1 Here is an example of a completely real and well prepared example. Compare this with the other one. Big difference, isn't it? (Credits: @Vertebrate) 2.2 How a skeleton of Sclerocephalus haeuseri should look like (Credit: Alamy.com) 3.0 Branchiosaurus petrolei (Credits: online auction site) These ones from france are mostly real, but youve probably guessed it: fake limbs and skin shadows ! They look like stick figures ! These were also painted whith clear paint, and sadly, they cover most of the remaining bone structure. Heres an example of another painted one, which i thougth looked to funny to omit. Three back legs ! Two real and great preserved, one fake painted stick. The head on this was also heavily painted and is non definable. 3.1 (Credits:online auction site) And here is an example of a 100% real one from my collection. You can see the completly different head shape, the toe bones on this are not preserved, but i think, you can spot the difference. This above could also be called "how to ruin a great fossil whith paint". 3.2 Example of a real one from my collection. 4.0 Discosauriscus pulcherrimus (Credits: @RobFallen) Well, this migth be a complete drawing on rock. If you look closely, you can see that the bone bend whith the rock, and its also very suspicious that the left foot is bend in, and not broken off. You can quoestion yourself, what was first: the rock, or the amphibian ? But this is a tricky and relativly good fake, many ones out there. 4.1 (Credits: online auction site) This is an example of a 100% real and 3d preserved one, really expensive. So you can compare them again, and you'll notice a difference again, mostly in the skulls. 5.0 All points and red flags together for all amphibians, also that were not featured in this guide 5.1 Skin shadows, if they dont match the overall look, shape or look painted, theyre in most cases really just painted whith some clear paint. 5.2 Bones, if most of them in one specimen dont match the shape they should be, or are dark and bend whith the rock, or not 3d, theyre mostly pencil drawings. 5.3 Skulls, if they look suspicious, google the species you're looking for and compare the results to the skull. If they look completly different and the one you think looks suspicious lacks in detail like jaw, teeth, or many bones are wrong, better run ! 5.3 Vertebras, in some specimen, the vertebrates are carved or reconstructed whith modelling clay. Carved ones are mostly circular or a square, and lack in structure and connection to the other ones. There are big, unnatural gaps in between them. The reconstructed ones are more tricky, but rarer to find. To recognize them, you should check the connection to the stone, or the other vertebras. Something looks wrong, better stay away ! 5.4 Toes, if they're missing, they're mostly just painted. You can recognize them by a different color, shine, the toe bones missing, and also that they're bending whith the rock. 5.5 Ribs, if they're straigth and not bend, thats mostly a red flag. Or if theyre bending whith the rock, better be carefull. 5.6, no red flag, but if you think theres something wrong about the specimen you want to buy, just wait, use that guide, or do the research yourself. Many fake amphibians are easy to recognize, even if you're not that experienced, and if you're unsure, just post it in the Forum, we have so many very experienced members here, they'll help further ! Have i something missed that i should mention or have you extra wishes ? Could ive done something better or should correct something ? Let me know !

Hello, i saw this Keichousaurus from Gouizhou, China, on auction today and think theres something wrong about it. The bones look like If they're carved from one piece, the toes look paint. But im not sure If its a complete fake. Because many of the structures seem to be real, but badly preserved. Also, i dont know how common it was in the 1980/90's to fake Keichous. Thats when it was found. So what do you think about it, is it a real and bad preserved one, a 50/50, or a complete fake ? Thanks for any advise ! (The seller didnt made that many close up pictures from different angles, sadly)

Hello everyone. For a long time now I have had a doubt regarding the fossil conglomerates of Orthoceras. Are they real or artificial? Is it the same as with the Dactylioceras that died together in large numbers? I appreciate any response.

Hello everyone, I've been offered this these "mosasaurus beaugei" tooth. teeth. Is it Are they really from this species? Or did the seller made a mistake identifying it them?

Hello, i saw this Megalodon tooth for sale today. The description says, its really heavy, but the seller doesnt know, If its real or not. So i basicly ask for two people. Its not known where it was found, but i think its real, the form matches, it has stripes and serrations. So what do you think about it ?

Hello everyone! Ive been offered this Megalodon tooth, its from Indonesia and measures 6.29 inches. I'm assuming 20% of the root has been restored, not too sure though this is the first time of me trying to differentiate fakes in Megalodons.

What do you guys think of this specimen? I looks better than most Keichosaurus specimens I've seen. I looks like it could be prepped more to expose more of the ribs etc. I'm debating on buying it and would like your feedback. Thanks

I found this actually beautiful Erbenochile in a European auction house. However, I think all the little spines on the pleural lobes and cheek spines aren't real. What do you think about that?

A 280 million year old fossil that purportedly showed early reptile development and supposedly showing rare soft tissue preservation has been shown to be paint over a carved skeleton..... Even museums can be fooled I guess. The should have posted it here in the us it real section first I guess! https://phys.org/news/2024-02-paleontological-analysis-renowned-fossil-thought.html

really cool fossil turns out to be really cool fake, but it had long puzzled scientists so it did not completely fool everybody, and may not even be an intentional attempt to deceive link for details

Hello, i saw this Spinosaurus jaw on auction today. The tooth seems real, but the jaw looks like it would come straight up out of the mold, where the Sand was placed in. Found in Kemkem beds, morocco Sorry for the random floating fingers, i still dont know why sellers use their hand for measurement.

Hello, i saw this big Spinosaurus tooth (14cm) on auction today, and it looks very good to me. But the root is a bit suspicious. It doesnt match with the colors and texture of the real tooth. Was a fake root formed to gain more centimeters to make it more valuebale ? It was found in the Kemkem beds of morocco.

Ancient Fossil That Baffled Scientists For Decades Finally Reveals Its True Identity, Michelle Starr, Nature, February 16, 2024 280-Million-Year-Old Mystery Solved As Forged Fossil's "Skin" Identified As Paint The "soft tissues" of this partial forgery were painted on, but it isn't a total fake. Rachael Funnell, IFL Science, February 16, 2024 The open access paper is; Rossi, V., Bernardi, M., Fornasiero, M., Nestola, F., Unitt, R., Castelli, S. and Kustatscher, E. (2024), Forged soft tissues revealed in the oldest fossil reptile from the early Permian of the Alps. Palaeontology, 67: e12690. https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12690 Yours, Paul H.

It can be very difficult to tell from pictures, a lot of the time, fossils that are misidentified, completely fake, composites, restored etc. This one is very easy to tell. I'm always looking for petrified wood on-line from a couple of the large auction sites and came across this piece. It made me laugh when I saw it, so I thought I would post it for other TFF members to enjoy. If you can't see immediately the multiple problems with the piece description, based upon the below pictures (there were many more pictures in the post), do not buy fossils on-line. At least the seller posted a good number of decent pictures from all angles, not the couple of blurry, grainy pictures that you normally would see for items like this. EDIT: Do not try a burn test on this piece to determine if it is a fossil or modern, unless you are burning it to heat your house. Item description: Petrified Wood Piece With A Real Marijuana Leaf Fossilized Marco Sr.

Quite regularly, questions turn up about the authenticity of Keichosaurus fossil specimens. Until now, most, if not all, were natural, but mostly just very poorly prepped. Would you like to show off "real" fakes, casts or replicas of Keichosaurus? I would like to get a feeling for them, at least from pics. If there already exists such a topic somewhere else in the forum, please put a link in this topic. Thank you very much! Franz Bernhard

Hello all, Recently I purchased a pair of tooth from a seller who sold me real keichousaurus and another real frog fossil based on forum opinions. He says this pair is from the same animal. I don’t even know if it’s Smilodon or Machairodus, nor do I have information about locality except that it was originally from China. Main reason I’m asking the forum is that as this is my first time owning saber cat teeth I’m not sure if they are always this light? 31-33 grams per piece only. It doesn’t seem cast with the great amount of detail. And about restoration it was broken and repaired, which is what the seller also said. Best wishes

Hello , I saw this Spinosaurus jaw for sale today and wanted to know If thats a real one or a fake one (because there are so many fake ones on the Internet) . It looks real and fake at the same time to me , real because of that magnificant lip which many fake ones dont have , and fake because of the weird looking toothsockets and the man made looking demolition edge . What do you think ? Edit : I Just saw that one other member of the Forum posted about the same jaw a couple hours ago 😅

I was hoping I could get some feedback on whether this fossil is real or not. The bones and scales definitely look real to me even under magnification. The thing that is throwing me is the matrix. It looks like plaster to me rather then rock. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and if anyone knows the species that would be great as well.

Hi guys, on a website I found this dinosaur footprint for sale. It was discovered in Germany. In your opinion is it real o fake? Thanks a lot!

The seller knows nothing about this one. Anyone thinks it is good to acquire?

The seller said its a real pterosaur tooth but im a bit suspicious can it come from another animal or just complete fake?