Is this Phacops 100% real or a composed trilobite

[Liamo]

Hey everyone,

I have this specimen and i have serious doubts that it's a classic case of a composed trilobite.

Here are the photos :

 

[Liamo]

On this pic we can see a crack from the top midle to the left

[A.C.]

Closeups would be needed I believe. 
 

Look for any off colored areas and or small holes on the surface of the trilobite and matrix if it were a fake.

 

Others on the forum may be able to tell right away with the provided images.

 

Do you happen to have a black light that you could shine on this?

Edited February 16, 2023 by A.C.

[Misha]

From these photos, I don't really see anything wrong with it, looks like a pretty nice piece although the prep is a bit rough, UV and close-ups would definitely help though

Also, I believe this is Drotops sp. not Phacops

[Liamo]

Thank you for your response. The fossil is a Drotops. Unfortunately, I do not have any close-up photos of the fossil, and upon closer inspection, I could not find any signs of bubbles.

My main concern was that the fossil could be composed of multiple trilobites

[JBkansas]

Don't see any splits to suggest a composite. If it is a composite, they must have two remarkably similar bugs to combine.

 

Does the crack from top middle to left line up with the crack in the matrix?  That's probably the break that found the fossil, the easiest way to find trilobites is to break the rocks across the layers until a cross section of trilobite shows up, glue the rocks back together and prep to the area of the trilobite. This is why most trilobites will have a crack across them.

Edited February 16, 2023 by JBkansas