Real Spinosaur claw or fake?

[Cris Tang]

Good afternoon,

May I know this claw is fake or not, please?

Because the color seems not natural.

But I’m not sure about that.

So I hope to learn more about it.

Thank you so much.

[Phos_01]

Hello, 

 

Id like to believe this is a real claw. I see some good bone structure and I don't think its a carved one. Its missing some part on the back end. Color is normal for Kem Kem fossils. 

There might be some repair on te middle part on the back side and up side of the claw, see photos were I tried to mark it. It could be that the claw is broken in two sides up and down and glued back together. 

 

Hope this helps

[Troodon]

The claw is real.  I will need a locality where found and a photo of the base to see if its a Spinosaurid.

 

There are issues with the claw:

The darker area in the red area is fill and the bone shown in the blue should not be there or improperly repaired.  My guess the claw had some damage and poorly repaired.

 

The texture in this area is also different and may reflect some repair/fill

 

[Phos_01]

1 hour ago, Troodon said:

blue should not be there or improperly repaired

saw this part to, made me think it's perhaps another species. We should have an image seen from above to properly see how it looks like. I thought that its maybe it's the most upper toe claw.

 

Good UV photos would also show allot in this case I believe to see what is repaired and what not

 

 

[Cris Tang]

3 hours ago, Phos_01 said:

Hello, 

 

Id like to believe this is a real claw. I see some good bone structure and I don't think its a carved one. Its missing some part on the back end. Color is normal for Kem Kem fossils. 

There might be some repair on te middle part on the back side and up side of the claw, see photos were I tried to mark it. It could be that the claw is broken in two sides up and down and glued back together. 

 

Hope this helps

Thank you so much for your explanation. 

Now, I have more information for my consideration of buy or not.

Thank you

 

[Cris Tang]

2 hours ago, Troodon said:

The claw is real.  I will need a locality where found and a photo of the base to see if its a Spinosaurid.

 

There are issues with the claw:

The darker area in the red area is fill and the bone shown in the blue should not be there or improperly repaired.  My guess the claw had some damage and poorly repaired.

 

The texture in this area is also different and may reflect some repair/fill

 

May I ask one more thing , please?

For a claw like this, is that normal for fill/ repair? Thank you

[Cris Tang]

1 hour ago, Phos_01 said:

saw this part to, made me think it's perhaps another species. We should have an image seen from above to properly see how it looks like. I thought that its maybe it's the most upper toe claw.

 

Good UV photos would also show allot in this case I believe to see what is repaired and what not

 

 

Is that a picture of T-rex? Thank you

[Phos_01]

7 minutes ago, Cris Tang said:

Is that a picture of T-rex? Thank you

This is a complete foot of the mighty Spinosaurus 

[Cris Tang]

7 minutes ago, Phos_01 said:

This is a complete foot of the mighty Spinosaurus 

But the color is totally different with my pictures.

Do you know where is it from? Not Kem Kem group?

[Troodon]

34 minutes ago, Cris Tang said:

May I ask one more thing , please?

For a claw like this, is that normal for fill/ repair? Thank you

 

I've seen them both ways.  The question raised are there more issues with this claw that only can be seen by hand examination.  That protruding bone in the end is odd.  Need to see additional photos.

[Troodon]

3 hours ago, Phos_01 said:

. I thought that its maybe it's the most upper toe claw.

If you are referring to Digit I, I dont believe so.

 

Here is a good reconstruction of a foot from what is known.

 

 

[Troodon]

38 minutes ago, Cris Tang said:

But the color is totally different with my pictures.

The color of your foot is typical of KK

[Meatasaurus93]

I'm pretty sure I looked at this claw the other day. In the listing I saw, the seller claimed there to be no restoration. It struck me as odd, considering there is clearly putty running along the blood groove. There are other questionable areas, as everyone above pointed out. It just goes to show that you can never fully trust a seller's description. It never hurts to get a second opinion and learn as much as you can about the fossils that interest you.

 

To answer your questions, I think the claw is mostly real, but it definitely has had work done to it. You just have to determine whether that is important to you.

 

I think it belonged to a theropod, and it appears to be a foot claw. I couldn't tell you whether it's Spinosaurid or Carcharodontosaurid. I'm not good at ID'ing these types of claws, when it comes to narrowing it down to a specific theropod.

 

Regarding the coloration, fossils that come from the Kem Kem beds tend to contain shades of red and orange due to iron being present in the sandstone sediment. They can range from being tan/beige to a deep red. Here are some theropod fossils from my collection that show this:

 

[Cris Tang]

3 hours ago, Meatasaurus93 said:

I'm pretty sure I looked at this claw the other day. In the listing I saw, the seller claimed there to be no restoration. It struck me as odd, considering there is clearly putty running along the blood groove. There are other questionable areas, as everyone above pointed out. It just goes to show that you can never fully trust a seller's description. It never hurts to get a second opinion and learn as much as you can about the fossils that interest you.

 

To answer your questions, I think the claw is mostly real, but it definitely has had work done to it. You just have to determine whether that is important to you.

 

I think it belonged to a theropod, and it appears to be a foot claw. I couldn't tell you whether it's Spinosaurid or Carcharodontosaurid. I'm not good at ID'ing these types of claws, when it comes to narrowing it down to a specific theropod.

 

Regarding the coloration, fossils that come from the Kem Kem beds tend to contain shades of red and orange due to iron being present in the sandstone sediment. They can range from being tan/beige to a deep red. Here are some theropod fossils from my collection that show this:

 

Thank you for your reply.

The seller told me that fossil has no repair and that is a original.

I'm not good at this area. But, I aslo think that's not original.

So, I put it here and ask the opinions from all experts and collectors here.

Luckly, I got so much useful knowledge about the toe claw.

 

For me, I know that if I want to buy a original claw or toe claw, that will be more expensive.

So, I still bought it after I'm sure that's a real claw.

Of course, I told the seller that's not a orginal/ non-repair fossil.

And, I got a very nice discount.

Thank you all, guys

[Cris Tang]

20 hours ago, Troodon said:

The color of your foot is typical of KK

Thank you for your reply.

I checked your sharing posts about spinosaurus.

That's very useful for me. And I saved them.

I love fossils, but I didn't find any place to learn it before.

It's so lucky for me to be one of a member here.

 

By the way,  I know that if I want to buy a original toe claw, that will be more expensive.

So, I still bought it after I'm sure that's a real claw.

Of course, I told the seller that's not a orginal/ non-repair fossil.

And, I got a very nice discount.

Thank you all, guys

Edited October 3, 2022 by Cris Tang
Wrong spelling

[Meatasaurus93]

7 hours ago, Cris Tang said:

Thank you for your reply.

The seller told me that fossil has no repair and that is a original.

I'm not good at this area. But, I aslo think that's not original.

So, I put it here and ask the opinions from all experts and collectors here.

Luckly, I got so much useful knowledge about the toe claw.

 

For me, I know that if I want to buy a original claw or toe claw, that will be more expensive.

So, I still bought it after I'm sure that's a real claw.

Of course, I told the seller that's not a orginal/ non-repair fossil.

And, I got a very nice discount.

Thank you all, guys

 

Okay, so it probably is the claw I saw the other day.

 

Restoration is generally more accepted on dinosaur fossils than something like a shark tooth. As I mentioned, it ultimately comes down to how much you consider an acceptable amount.

 

Restoration aside, it's a cool, big claw. I'm glad that the seller was willing to negotiate, and the deal worked out in your favor.

[Meganeura]

Wow, a real claw on here is something rare to see, even if it was repaired! Also the size on that... 4" on just the claw really puts into perspective how absolutely massive spinosaurids are. 

[Cris Tang]

5 hours ago, Meatasaurus93 said:

 

Okay, so it probably is the claw I saw the other day.

 

Restoration is generally more accepted on dinosaur fossils than something like a shark tooth. As I mentioned, it ultimately comes down to how much you consider an acceptable amount.

 

Restoration aside, it's a cool, big claw. I'm glad that the seller was willing to negotiate, and the deal worked out in your favor.

Agree.
For restoration, It’s accepted on dinosaur fossils. So I focused on the price after I know the claw is real and has been restored.

[Cris Tang]

On 10/2/2022 at 9:14 PM, Phos_01 said:

saw this part to, made me think it's perhaps another species. We should have an image seen from above to properly see how it looks like. I thought that its maybe it's the most upper toe claw.

 

Good UV photos would also show allot in this case I believe to see what is repaired and what not

 

 

 

 

Now, we got the answer for the bottom side.
The claw is really beautiful!

I love it so much!

[Beachdog rockhound]

I believe this is also a good example of a similar fossil. I found this myself. It's around 8 for hardness. The diamond probe liked it also ?

[JohnJ]

4 hours ago, Beachdog rockhound said:

I have a similar fossil 

 

 

4 hours ago, Beachdog rockhound said:

I believe this is also a good example of a similar fossil. I found this myself. It's around 8 for hardness. The diamond probe liked it also ?

 

No sir, with all due respect, this rock is not fossil related in any way.