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Fake Hadrosaur Egg?


mikecoscia

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I bought this YEARS ago and it has been sitting on a shelf ever since.  Never took the time to verify it's authenticity, but from what I have seen on this site it definitely appears to be fake. 

 

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How about a close up of the shell. I am no expert on these. But from the pic you provided it looks legit to me. A close up may tell a different story.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Better close up photos would help.  It may not be fake, just reconstructed or composed.

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9 minutes ago, Darktooth said:

How about a close up of the shell. I am no expert on these. But from the pic you provided it looks legit to me. A close up may tell a different story.

 

8 minutes ago, Ruger9a said:

Better close up photos would help.  It may not be fake, just reconstructed or composed.

 

Thanks for the quick replies!  Here are a couple of closer shots...

 

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That last pic looks like it has had perhaps a sand and glue mixture added to where the egg would join the base matrix for whatever reason.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, caldigger said:

That last pic looks like it has had perhaps a sand and glue mixture added to where the egg would join the base matrix for whatever reason.

I noticed that too, but is it indicative of it being a fake or just restructured?

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22 minutes ago, caldigger said:

It may have been composited onto the matrix or for some other reason. :shrug:

I agree with Caldigger.  Possibly.... it may have originally been part of a clutch and was separated in order to sell them individually?  To me....the shell (no edges are visible to confirm) looks like pieces I have.  The "egg" appears to have been completely covered with a glue/matrix material which may have been applied to cover up any perceived imperfections or the reattach missing pieces.   I'm sure an "eggspert (:-))" from the group will read your post and provide the detailed information you need. 

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Looks like mostly original to me. Possibly repaired/restored/composited.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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To my eye, that is an authentic egg that needs a little prep. I believe the white layer to be a natural mineral deposit, and visually it appears as the surface of eggs I have prepped. 

 

Look for shell shards loose in the matrix. I like to see those as a small hint of authenticity. 

 

@HamptonsDoc 

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Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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1 hour ago, snolly50 said:

To my eye, that is an authentic egg that needs a little prep. I believe the white layer to be a natural mineral deposit, and visually it appears as the surface of eggs I have prepped. 

 

Look for shell shards loose in the matrix. I like to see those as a small hint of authenticity. 

 

@HamptonsDoc 

Thank you for replying!  Is this what you are referring too?  Are those brown chips in the matrix egg shell fragments? 

 

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54 minutes ago, mikecoscia said:

Is this what you are referring too?

Yes, as well as I can tell from a picture. Eggs are typically seen with the "bottom" visible. That is, what is visible is actually the portion of the egg that was resting on the nest. The unseen portion contains the hatching window. This is where the little critter burst forth. This action certainly resulted in a generous supply of shattered shell. Seeing little bits of shell within the matrix suggest to me the authenticity of the nest infill. That is, not just some random mud a faker has scraped together in which to plop an ersatz egg. A forger could obviously scatter some random shell in contrived matrix, but seeing the shell bits always makes me a bit more confident as to authenticity.

 

 

Edit:

The area of difference in appearance of the matrix that @caldigger notes above - does it encircle the entire piece where the visible shell meets the matrix or is it confined to a smaller area? If it were mine, curiosity would compel me to break off a small piece from the pictured area that shows the visible small cracks. I would roughly deconstruct that small bit and view it under magnification in search of any foreign component (e.g., glue).

 

Good luck, have fun.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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Howdy @mikecoscia, your egg is likely real with a few areas reconstructed. I am not sure it is from a Hadrosaur, as the surface appears different from the vast majority of spheroolithidae the egg family associated with hadrosaurs. The overall shape does fit spheroolithidae, but I would need a good cross-section of the eggshell to be certain. Do you have any better close up pictures? I would agree with @snolly50 and the base where the egg is joined with matrix does appear to be reconstructed. 

 

 

 

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18 minutes ago, CBchiefski said:

Howdy @mikecoscia, your egg is likely real with a few areas reconstructed. I am not sure it is from a Hadrosaur, as the surface appears different from the vast majority of spheroolithidae the egg family associated with hadrosaurs. The overall shape does fit spheroolithidae, but I would need a good cross-section of the eggshell to be certain. Do you have any better close up pictures? I would agree with @snolly50 and the base where the egg is joined with matrix does appear to be reconstructed. 

Thank you for your reply!  I can definitely take more close up photos. Is there something in particular, I can look to photograph that would be helpful?  Funny enough, I found a print out of the original listing in my files.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Egg looks off to me.  Reminds me of those fake ones that were coming from Southeast asia a few years ago...  Shell texture seems wrong.  Obvious signs of matrix added to where the egg meets matrix.  I vote for fake but hard to say for sure without having this one in hand.

 

Sorry for the late response for everyone who tagged me.... I've been extremely busy dealing with Covid patients at my hospital.

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I agree with @HamptonsDoc that this particular egg looks fake to me.  It is similar to the fake eggs "mass" produced in Henan, China.  The fake eggs produced look quite real in pictures but upon close examination in hand, it is not difficult to tell that they are fake ones.

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