Real Tarbosaur?

[heZZ]

I found this fossil online.  The toe claw is 32.5 cm long. Found in Gobi Desert, Mongolia

[Troodon]

It looks like a Tarbosaurus digit IV but would need a better provenance to support that.  Might be a composite but looks fine..

 

Edit:

We talked this before way back in early 2019, thought it looked familiar 

 

[SULLY]

If I remember correctly, this piece has been for sale for a long time.

[JohnJ]

All, please remember to refrain from comments characterizing the website or price.  Thanks.

[Coco]

Hi,

 

I’m surprised to see it on sale, because I thought the fossils in the Gobi Desert were protected...

 

Coco

[Pemphix]

1 hour ago, Coco said:

Hi,

 

I’m surprised to see it on sale, because I thought the fossils in the Gobi Desert were protected...

 

Coco

Yes, they are afaik.

[Coco]

A fake ?

 

Coco

[Troodon]

1 hour ago, Coco said:

A fake ?

 

Coco

No very real.  I handled it at the Tucson show.  Its actually a very nice item

[RuMert]

3 hours ago, Coco said:

I thought the fossils in the Gobi Desert were protected...

There's a BIG distance between banning something and enforcing the ban

[Troodon]

One needs to remember that not so long ago the US market was flooded with Mongolian material.  The big shows, auction houses had lots of items for sale so this material just did disappear its in collections or with sellers.   So its not a surprise that you periodically see some of this material for sale.   

 

[LabRatKing]

Is that some brush work I see on the ventral side of the ungual? Looks like discoloration from the stabilizer used? Just curious as I continue to teach myself about the various techniques of reconstruction and reproduction of fossils.

[heZZ]

Dare i buy it if i'm sure?

[Troodon]

If you have any questions about restoration ask the seller dont make any assumptions.  Over the years I found he's very upfront with any work that has been done   

[BadlandTraveller]

I second @Troodon I have purchased several items off the seller and found him to be honest and upfront. 

 

 

[SULLY]

So just out of curiosity. How do you buy something like this and not get looked into by the FEDS? I understand that back years ago it was somewhat legal to buy stuff from that region. But everyone knows that’s a 100% no go for today. So that tells me this is a giant gray area. How do you prove that this was from a real old collection? I know when things are left for interpretation with the government, it usually does not work out well for the individual!

[Pemphix]

21 hours ago, Pemphix said:

Yes, they are afaik.

AFAIK = as far as i know

Not a fake.

[Coco]

Thanks Pemphix.

 

Coco

[Pemphix]

1 hour ago, SULLY said:

So just out of curiosity. How do you buy something like this and not get looked into by the FEDS? I understand that back years ago it was somewhat legal to buy stuff from that region. But everyone knows that’s a 100% no go for today. So that tells me this is a giant gray area. How do you prove that this was from a real old collection? I know when things are left for interpretation with the government, it usually does not work out well for the individual!

German laws says you need to prove your statement that it is from old collection, which is in fact a problem if no reliable documents can be provided - which is usually not the case.

Don't know international laws (U.S. or Mongolian). 

Furthermore I read articles saying that even museums have now trouble with such fossils in this context.

So I would stay away...like Sully said..