TRILOBITES - These appear real...

[leelee51]

What's your take --- are these real? Considering purchase.

 

Details: "Selenopeltis buchii trilobites", 45 x 35 cm (total size), Paleozoic, Upper Ordovician, discovered in Morocco.

 

 

[Fossildude19]

I get suspicious when I see more than one trilobite on a plate, lined up so nicely.   

 

Cropped, enlarged, and brightened.

 

[leelee51]

Good to know on the alignment. Now that you mention it, it is kinda perfect... is that just very rare / unlikely?

Another detail: noted as collected in the 1840's.

Edited December 16, 2019 by leelee51
add'l detail

[Fossildude19]

1 hour ago, leelee51 said:

Good to know on the alignment. Now that you mention it, it is kinda perfect... is that just very rare / unlikely?

Another detail: noted as collected in the 1840's.

Well, usually when you have that many Moroccan trilobites on one plate, a few have usually been composited onto a plate that has one or two original trilobites. They may be all real, but I am suspect that they were not originally all on the same block. 

Perfect alignment in fossils doesn't happen all that often.   

[Tidgy's Dad]

The trilobites may be real, I can't tell for sure from this picture and Selenopeltis does occur in groups in Morocco, but, as Tim says, the alignment here seems odd. It looks like separate pieces of rock have been fixed together, I would ask to see the reverse. 

This is interesting : 

https://books.google.co.ma/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ws_a_CY1wMsC&oi=fnd&pg=PA73&dq=trilobite+linear+clusters&ots=DrFbrgFiig&sig=ZVGVZjBFv2hzH1VirPM4Jht32Pc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=trilobite linear clusters&f=false

[daves64]

In the cropped & brightened pic, I'm seeing what looks like seams running between the 3 trilo's. Maybe I'm seeing things.. 

[Fitch1979]

Hard to say actually... for this piece too I would like to see the reverse side. And more close ups of the individual trilobites...

[caldigger]

6 hours ago, daves64 said:

In the cropped & brightened pic, I'm seeing what looks like seams running between the 3 trilo's. Maybe I'm seeing things.. 

I saw the same things, but don't have the ability to illustrate the areas.

[daves64]

43 minutes ago, caldigger said:

I saw the same things, but don't have the ability to illustrate the areas.

Just draw on the screen & take a pic of it. 

[leelee51]

Wow - thanks all. Helpful in my decision (going to hold off) - now that the seams have been called out, I can't unsee them. That's definitely something I'll know to look for, moving forward.

[leelee51]

Also - I also saw another plate with about a dozen huddled together (no seams visible because of this), noted to be from the same area. Apparently, a mass mortality. Because of the price, I assumed it was real --- of course, I'm learning price is not a great indicator.

Edited December 17, 2019 by leelee51

[Pemphix]

IMO plastered together as daves64 said - not sure if the bugs are real...