heZZ Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 My main concern, is it composite? What can you tell from these pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Scale? More detailed images are needed to determine what is real, cast, or carved. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRatKing Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Is it a composite? Likely not. Has it had reconstruction work done? Absolutely. The big red flag I see is that these images of this particular specimen, listed as Halisaurus arambourgi, shows up on at least a half a dozen different, unrelated sites between at least that many vendors around the world. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Halisaurus arambourgi skull. But yeah, there are a number of parts that look a bit rough. Likely an incomplete skull that was then repaired. Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 I agree with @LordTrilobite and @LabRatKing, this is definitely Halisaurus arambourgi, one of the smaller - if not the smallest - of the Moroccan mosasaurs. The overall size, shape of the teeth, thin dentaries and shape of quadrates give it way as being as much. It's real, but has quite a bit of poor repairs done on it. The frontal, for one, has a bit of a bend (which is not uncommon in such skulls offered on the market, but is actually plastic deformation that resulted from taphonomic processes), giving the overall skull more of a square appearance, rather than the elongated one that it should have. Moreover, all the "bridge bones", such as - but not limited to - the squamosal, jugal, parietal extensions, etc. have been reconstructed very robustly and without curvature. That is, as @LordTrilobite said, they "look a bit rough" - adding to the overall square look of the specimen. Figures taken from Mike Everhart's "If I only had a brain....": A primer on the brain and cranial anatomy of mosasaurs From what I can make out, this piece is targetted at the less scientifically interested buyer who would like to liven up their home with an unique discussion item. 1 'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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