I purchased a andolousiana trilobite and am worried it may be fake

[conkylken]

I purchased a andolousiana trilobite today in Wyoming and I'm not 100% sure on the legitimacy of it. Any thoughts would definitely be helpful!

 

Edited November 28, 2021 by conkylken

[FB003]

I would recommend removing the receipt and other references to the seller.  Forum rules do not allow it.

[Kane]

Unfortunately, this is a complete fabrication. I have removed mention of the seller and the image of the receipt.

[Darktooth]

Yikes! Hope this was not too expensive.

[conkylken]

3 minutes ago, Darktooth said:

Yikes! Hope this was not too expensive.

It was [price removed]. I included the name at first, but was asked to remove it. It was purchased from a "reputable" dinosaur digsite in Wyoming.

[conkylken]

21 minutes ago, Kane said:

Unfortunately, this is a complete fabrication. I have removed mention of the seller and the image of the receipt.

Thank you, sorry I read the rules, but I suppose I skipped over that part. I was mainly including it just to help with identification in case anyone has had similar experiences.

[Darktooth]

I would return it.

[Praefectus]

This is a really bad fake.  I hope you can get your money back. 

[FranzBernhard]

What have they done here?

Positive and negative are clearly the same "animal". And the right one indeed looks in some ways like a mold of the left one (air bubbles in the right one!?). On the other side, some "ridges" are really sharp in the right one and some spots (cephalon) are too imperfect to be a mold of the left one.

@piranha, @Kane, @Tidgy's Dad

Thank you!

Franz Bernhard

[Paleorunner]

I have no experience with this, and my answer is only based on the logic my eyes see.
It seems that the left photo (negative) is real, and to be able to deceive better, a new mold has been made, or a great restoration of the positive. (Sales of positive and negative trilos give a lot of credibility). They don't know what to invent to be able to sell counterfeits.
Surely he is wrong, or not.
We will wait for answers from the experts, I am looking forward to hearing your opinion.   

jajajajajajajajajaja !!! I had not realized that there were more comments above.  

Edited November 28, 2021 by Paleorunner

[Paleorunner]

Maybe the photo is giving some strange optical effect, one of the four times that I have looked at the photos, I have seen the same as you (two positive molds). 

[Paleorunner]

Ains, but what happens here, again I have seen them positive again ...... 

[FossilNerd]

@FranzBernhard @Paleorunner

 

The second picture seems to me to be the bottom of the same specimen. I don’t think it’s two separate pieces with one being the mold of the other. 

 

I agree with the others. A totally sculpted and carved fake.  

[Top Trilo]

I agree, look at the shape of the "glabella" on this one compared to other trilobites.

[Mark Kmiecik]

I don't collect trilobites, but I can clearly see this is fake. The negative impression cannot be the ventral side of the same animal. Ventral and dorsal look completely different from each other. For instance, the back side of a crab does not look anything like its belly. The back side of your head does not look the same as your face.

Edited November 28, 2021 by Mark Kmiecik

[Kane]

Just to serve as additional information, the trilobites generally sold as Andalusiana are Cambropallas telesto. Where they are quarried in Morocco, they do not commonly appear complete, and it is fairly common practice among some to mix and match parts, or to cast them entirely from plaster or resin. 

 

Here is a genuine example housed at the American Museum of Natural History: 

 

 

[Pemphix]

Fabrication, not real

[Diplocaulus]

Sadly, it looks fake to me. 

[Sjfriend]

@conkylken look at the pleural ends from the two halvels. They are completely different. The 1st photo they are blunt (carved) and in 2nd they are rearward pointed.

 

Hope you can get money back.