Can you help me to know if it is a real Skull of Mosasaurus or fake?

[Ita97]

Hi, I would like to buy this skull of mosasaurus, but I am not sure that it is a real fossil… 

could you help me please?

thank you very much 

[Troodon]

Looks like a skull that has been cobbled together from random pieces.   @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon will, have a better read on it.

[Ita97]

18 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Looks like a skull that has been cobbled together from random pieces.   @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon will, have a better read on it.

Can you explain me How do you deduce this? 
thank you very much for your reply!

Edited October 29, 2022 by Ita97

[Meganeura]

2 minutes ago, Ita97 said:

Can you explain me How do you deduce this? 
thank you very much for your reply!

 

32 minutes ago, Ita97 said:

If you look at this picture as an example - you can see all the bone chunks have gaps that are filled in with cement or plaster or whatever is being used. While this could be an indicator of just restoration/repair... it's much, MUCH more likely, given the frequency of the filler, that it's a composite, a franken-mosasaur, and that most of the bone probably isn't from a mosasaur to begin with.

[Troodon]

I think Meganeura said it all.  Here is what a real skull should look like.

 

 

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

2 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Looks like a skull that has been cobbled together from random pieces.   @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon will, have a better read on it.

 

4 minutes ago, Meganeura said:

If you look at this picture as an example - you can see all the bone chunks have gaps that are filled in with cement or plaster or whatever is being used. While this could be an indicator of just restoration/repair... it's much, MUCH more likely, given the frequency of the filler, that it's a composite, a franken-mosasaur, and that most of the bone probably isn't from a mosasaur to begin with.

 

14 minutes ago, Ita97 said:

 

I agree. This is probably clearest in the last photograph, but if you look at the skull you'll see various white to yellowish white (from glue) pieces of bone set together with light grey grainy artificial matrix in between. Now, while the latter matrix isn't necessarily an indication of the skull being an amalgamation of bone pieces, it does evidence poor quality of preparation. What is more informative, however, is that various bone pieces that are set side by side are obviously mismatched in shape or texture (they may be in colour as well, but since the colour is usually a factor or the glue applied, it's not a good indicator).

 

If you looks at the image below, I've circled those areas where the bone pieces don't match up in red, with the reason for the mismatch being that, in most these cases, the bone either doesn't come from this region anatomically, or seems to be from a different individual due to size differences, etc. The area circled in blue is what's supposed to pass for the pterygoid, which here, however, has been fabricated as way too massive, and without the traditional curve to it. In real skulls, the pterygoid is a very fragile element and often shatters entirely. The area circled in orange, then, the back of the skull, has been reconstructed again too massively. In a real skull, this area is mostly open, with just a few bars and processes making it up. What should be there instead is a quadrate bone, which is a loose bone that connects the back of the jaw to the cranium. Other anatomical elements of the skull are also missing... A final indicator is that many of the teeth on this specimen have been refitted/randomly attached, which is especially true for the pterygoid. It's very rare that a mosasaur skull still has a lot of its original teeth...

 

 

Take a look at the below photographs to get an impression of how a real skull is supposed to look:

 

[JohnJ]

As further evidence this is a fabrication, note this thoracic vertebrae 'cobbled' into the back of the skull.  This is an 'art project' being passed off as a 'skull'.

 

[Meganeura]

20 hours ago, JohnJ said:

As further evidence this is a fabrication, note this thoracic vertebrae 'cobbled' into the back of the skull.  This is an 'art project' being passed off as a 'skull'.

 

Wow I totally missed that on first viewing - that’s… hilarious, honestly. 

[FossilNerd]

I could see the side of the jaw being cobbled together pretty quickly, but it always amazes me when the vertebrate experts chime in and point out what (to them) are obvious inconsistencies and flaws in a specimen such as this. 
 

I’m sure my amazement comes from my own ignorance of vertebrates, being an invertebrate guy, but still my hat is off to the experts that chimed in here. Well done!

 

 

@Meganeura @Troodon @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon @JohnJ

 

This is why I love TFF. So much knowledge under one roof, and people willing to share that knowledge! I learn something new every time I log on and am often impressed. Even after years of being an active member.

[Meganeura]

On 10/30/2022 at 8:55 AM, FossilNerd said:

I could see the side of the jaw being cobbled together pretty quickly, but it always amazes me when the vertebrate experts chime in and point out what (to them) are obvious inconsistencies and flaws in a specimen such as this. 
 

I’m sure my amazement comes from my own ignorance of vertebrates, being an invertebrate guy, but still my hat is off to the experts that chimed in here. Well done!

 

 

@Meganeura @Troodon @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon @JohnJ

 

This is why I love TFF. So much knowledge under one roof, and people willing to share that knowledge! I learn something new every time I log on and am often impressed. Even after years of being an active member.

I can’t claim to be an expert by any means, honestly! I just enjoy browsing through the real or fake posts and have quickly picked up on inconsistencies - but I appreciate the compliment a lot!