Restored Megalodon Tooth Identification

[jihia]

I got a megalodon tooth which is clearly restored, but may we get to know which part is restored? I suspect entire root is restored? New in fossil still learning here.

I posted some extreme closed up of root, enamel, and serration.

Thanks for the analysation in advance.

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by jihia

[Top Trilo]

13 minutes ago, jihia said:

I got a megalodon tooth which is clearly restored

What makes you think this is "clearly restored" Looks natural to me

[jihia]

13 minutes ago, Top Trilo said:

What makes you think this is "clearly restored" Looks natural to me

Tip is brushed with micro sands as per one of the close up photo, a enamel crack contain glue kind of stuff, root as "glittered" reflection as I rotating, like granite kind

[snolly50]

I see the "crack" in the enamel you cite, and if that's its close-up, then indeed some type of material has been added. I would view such a step (probably unneeded) to be preservation not restoration. As for the rest, like Top Trilo, it looks natural to me as well. Of course you have it in hand so your impression is likely more accurate then mine. 

[FranzBernhard]

Oh well, a quite similar tooth rootwise came up about a good year ago:

Franz Bernhard

 

[Top Trilo]

The difference between this tooth and the one Franz shared is,

1. This one has serrations,  the other one is very worn and not a sign on the restored part

2. If you look at it you can see a clear line of where the restoration is with the sand and glue on the border

3. the root is the same sand glue color and texture where as this one has different colors and depth.

 

So this is either real or a very good fake

 

[digit]

The tip of the tooth looks fabricated to me (this is a part that is vert often missing due to feeding damage or damage after the tooth is shed). The overly-smooth root with the grainy texture is highly suspicious--the striations on the labial side also look artificial. I'm guessing if you soaked this tooth in acetone as did the owner of the tooth shown in the link provided by Franz above that the tip would disappear and the root would look more natural with the normal holes and cracks of a real tooth once all of the sand/glue "make-up" was dissolved and washed away.

 

The restoration job was not badly done (I've seen much worse). Assume the tooth has had a make-over and did not initially look so "supermodel" perfect. If you are looking for an authentically high-grade tooth then this is likely not it. If you paid a price commensurate with a "perfect" tooth then you were cheated. If the price was quite reasonable (maybe suspiciously so) then you have a slightly artificial meg tooth that still displays well and most folks would never know the difference.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Top Trilo]

5 minutes ago, digit said:

most folks would never know the difference.

yep that's me 

[jihia]

37 minutes ago, digit said:

The tip of the tooth looks fabricated to me (this is a part that is vert often missing due to feeding damage or damage after the tooth is shed). The overly-smooth root with the grainy texture is highly suspicious--the striations on the labial side also look artificial. I'm guessing if you soaked this tooth in acetone as did the owner of the tooth shown in the link provided by Franz above that the tip would disappear and the root would look more natural with the normal holes and cracks of a real tooth once all of the sand/glue "make-up" was dissolved and washed away.

 

The restoration job was not badly done (I've seen much worse). Assume the tooth has had a make-over and did not initially look so "supermodel" perfect. If you are looking for an authentically high-grade tooth then this is likely not it. If you paid a price commensurate with a "perfect" tooth then you were cheated. If the price was quite reasonable (maybe suspiciously so) then you have a slightly artificial meg tooth that still displays well and most folks would never know the difference.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Thank you for the detailed analysis. I am getting a UV light to try. Acetone will most probably not an option as I am quite ok with how it looks. The price was under the range I am comfortable with. I just feel the root is too beautiful to be true and it has the glittered shine like how sand reflect light.

Edited February 1, 2021 by jihia

[Praefectus]

Hello. The root on your tooth was restored. Someone used a sand/glue mixture to round out the shape of the root. Notice how the texture is grainy and the root lacks aeration cracks/other preservation features. This one of the better quality "restoration" techniques. Very similar to the tooth in this post. 

 

 

 

[LabRatKing]

As restos go, this one if fairly well done. Root is missing a few anatomical vascular features and is out of proportion. There has been enamel work in the usual spots.

 

serratia look exquisite...if those are sculpted, please have the artist get ahold of me...that level of detail takes superhuman skill...but they look legit to me which may indicate some compositing.

[snolly50]

Ken is suspicious of the tip. Does it display the same appearance as the sharp serrations shown in the enlarged image? 

[jihia]

To ease everyone's doubt, here with close up of the tip, I believe it is broken and glued back with some sand covered

[jihia]

Today I got a UV light and shine on it, here with the result. I do not really know how to judge which part are authentic which are restored

 

[PrehistoricWonders]

Good amount of restoration, I’d say. The whole root looks restored, I’ve never seen a natural meg with the lines on the root that symmetrical. Not sure what’s going on with the tip.

[Praefectus]

Thanks for the UV pictures. You can see the sections that glow white are glue. Based on that, I believe the circled section is entirely fake. 

 

[jihia]

On 2/4/2021 at 11:34 AM, Praefectus said:

Thanks for the UV pictures. You can see the sections that glow white are glue. Based on that, I believe the circled section is entirely fake. 

 

Do you mean the white glow on enamel are glue? I have done some search on how megalodon tooth react to uv light. The enamel will glow in the dark completely if it is authentic?

[digit]

Some of my megs glow orangish on the enamel blade (especially along the edges) under UV light.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[jihia]

10 hours ago, digit said:

Some of my megs glow orangish on the enamel blade (especially along the edges) under UV light.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

I am not even sure if mine considered glow. But I do able to see the enamel colour under UV.

[aeon.rocks]

Tip resto: tip was broken, a part of another tooth's tip was composited

Blade corner resto: same story, composited part of another tooth

Besides there's glue in one hydration crack, so possibly the tooth was found in pieces, glued and restored

Root: either completely restored with glue and rock mix or missing part carved out of the surrounding rock. I'm leaning towards the carved out option, possibly there's areas of real eroded root below the matrix and some areas of root are natural, like in example in this picture, that's real natural root next to the gum and airscribe marks: 

 

 

 

Fun fact: Natural Indonesian teeth "glow" in UV. By glow I mean, don't expect it to fluorescent fully, just a little bit. If some root or glued matrix areas shows darker in UV, that's restored area. If enamel glows "jellow" or "orange" or "purple-blue" (depends on you UV wavelength, for example in short UV spectrum the blades glow yellow), it's probably real. So just the opposite of what you would expect! If there are glued areas, they will glow different as all natural areas.  So HOW TO CHECK FOR RESTO OF INDO MEGS WITH UV? If the tooth is natural and non-repaired, the whole Indo tooth glows in UV without obvious darker restored parts. Gum, blade and root - all more or less flurescent - homogeneously. Roots the least. But fair to say, that any areas that appear darker (glow different than surrounding areas) are possibly restored (possibly, because sometimes, different UV reflection comes from dirt covering the natural parts or different mineralization). UV light is best used compared with normal light.

 

It's almost impossible to make a perfect restoration of megs, to go completelly undectected, if you know what to look for.  If you know the suspect areas, you'll easily notice, with UV, how parts have been put together on the blade.

 

 

 

PS: Watch out for fakes like in example bellow: 

 

 

[jihia]

1 hour ago, aeon.rocks said:

Tip resto: tip was broken, a part of another tooth's tip was composited

Blade corner resto: same story, composited part of another tooth

Besides there's glue in one hydration crack, so possibly the tooth was found in pieces, glued and restored

Root: either completely restored with glue and rock mix or missing part carved out of the surrounding rock. I'm leaning towards the carved out option, possibly there's areas of real eroded root below the matrix and some areas of root are natural, like in example in this picture, that's real natural root next to the gum and airscribe marks: 

 

 

 

Fun fact: Natural Indonesian teeth "glow" in UV. By glow I mean, don't expect it to fluorescent fully, just a little bit. If some root or glued matrix areas shows darker in UV, that's restored area. If enamel glows "jellow" or "orange" or "purple-blue" (depends on you UV wavelength, for example in short UV spectrum the blades glow yellow), it's probably real. So just the opposite of what you would expect! If there are glued areas, they will glow different as all natural areas.  So HOW TO CHECK FOR RESTO OF INDO MEGS WITH UV? If the tooth is natural and non-repaired, the whole Indo tooth glows in UV without obvious darker restored parts. Gum, blade and root - all more or less flurescent - homogeneously. Roots the least. But fair to say, that any areas that appear darker (glow different than surrounding areas) are possibly restored (possibly, because sometimes, different UV reflection comes from dirt covering the natural parts or different mineralization). UV light is best used compared with normal light.

 

It's almost impossible to make a perfect restoration of megs, to go completelly undectected, if you know what to look for.  If you know the suspect areas, you'll easily notice, with UV, how parts have been put together on the blade.

 

 

 

PS: Watch out for fakes like in example bellow: 

 

 

Hi Aeon, your explanation is really helpful!

Tip is broken but I believe it is the same tooth as the crack line matched

Same goes for blade corner as the crack line matched too

Now you have mentioned whole tooth glow, I try to use UV again and realised part of root really glow, in slight yellow tone as per enamel. attached with uv photo that I try to take again. grey part & some purple part are those glow in yellow. the photos was adjusted to make it more visible as original photo is just pure purple hue.

And the glow part on root is the close up shot you had mentioned.