Square Pickle Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 This may sound like a stupid question to the more seasoned collectors, but I've recently started buying dinosaur teeth to collect and I can't help but notice a pattern when searching through the various fossil websites. Almost all dinosaur fossils are American or Moroccan. I've seen that international fossil trade is actually illegal in some countries causing some fossils to be unobtainable realistically. Some fossils are also extremely rare as well and are valued much higher making them extremely difficult to find.. Is it really that common for dinosaur fossils to be unobtainable? I don't mean the rare ones, I mean there's absolutely NO WAY to legally purchase them. I've seen the usual suspects on almost every website. Tyrannosaurus, Spinosaurus, Triceratops, Ankylosaurus. As well as certain Raptors, Pterosaurs, and theropods here and there. There are certain popular dinosaurs I never seem to come across though. Giganotosaurus? Brachiosaurus? Suchomimus? Are these dinosaur fossils just hard to come by or are they unobtainable to the average collector? If they are available, what's the best way to obtain them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 You summed it up nicely. Many countries outlaw export of fossils. The ones that allow it don't have all the species commonly available. Also some dealers are less than knowledgeable so every predator tooth gets named T. Rex (I'm exaggerating a little). The best way to obtain them is to go find them, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Pickle Posted April 1, 2021 Author Share Posted April 1, 2021 6 hours ago, Scylla said: You summed it up nicely. Many countries outlaw export of fossils. The ones that allow it don't have all the species commonly available. Also some dealers are less than knowledgeable so every predator tooth gets named T. Rex (I'm exaggerating a little). The best way to obtain them is to go find them, of course. That's what I was afraid of. With a lot of the Argentinian fossils near the top of my list, I may have to write them off as unobtainable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FF7_Yuffie Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 7 hours ago, Square Pickle said: This may sound like a stupid question to the more seasoned collectors, but I've recently started buying dinosaur teeth to collect and I can't help but notice a pattern when searching through the various fossil websites. Almost all dinosaur fossils are American or Moroccan. I've seen that international fossil trade is actually illegal in some countries causing some fossils to be unobtainable realistically. Some fossils are also extremely rare as well and are valued much higher making them extremely difficult to find.. Is it really that common for dinosaur fossils to be unobtainable? I don't mean the rare ones, I mean there's absolutely NO WAY to legally purchase them. I've seen the usual suspects on almost every website. Tyrannosaurus, Spinosaurus, Triceratops, Ankylosaurus. As well as certain Raptors, Pterosaurs, and theropods here and there. There are certain popular dinosaurs I never seem to come across though. Giganotosaurus? Brachiosaurus? Suchomimus? Are these dinosaur fossils just hard to come by or are they unobtainable to the average collector? If they are available, what's the best way to obtain them? Suchomimus teeth crop up sometimes. If it's one you're after, I think it's definitely obtainable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 How do you feel about museum grade replicas? Google "replica fossils" and see if any of those fill the gaps in your wish list. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Most commercial diggers are found here in the States and in Morocco why you see this material available. Other than Morocco and deposits of the Hell Creek / Lance Formations teeth become increasingly rare, pricy and harder to get. Popularity of a dinosaur does not equate to availability of teeth. For example Stegosaurus is very popular but its teeth are hard to obtain. Keep posting your interest here and please do not trust ID's you see offered from anyone. Few sellers really understand how to properly identify teeth that are not the most common even those from Morocco 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Pickle Posted April 1, 2021 Author Share Posted April 1, 2021 10 hours ago, FF7_Yuffie said: Suchomimus teeth crop up sometimes. If it's one you're after, I think it's definitely obtainable. Thank you for commenting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 @Square Pickle Please note that we do not allow requests to purchase on the general forums. 1 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 Apart from Moroccon and US material, it should be possible to get some dinosaur fossils from the UK as well, albeit mainly vertebrae and other pieces of bone. I've also seen dinosaur fossils being offered from Portugal, including teeth, which I'll PM you about in a bit. And then there's the occasional legally exported dinosaur bone from Canada you might be able to lay your hands on for the right price... But that's about all I've seen offered for sale - not that I myself am interested in dinosaurs. I'd expect it to be possible to acquire some material from Germany as well, though, as fossil trade is allowed there, albeit this would then mostly pertain to Plateosaurus. '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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