Help On Identifying Trilobite Authenticity

[Melissawow]

This is a very dubious trilobite I've purchased. There are lots of disagreements among other fossil collectors regarding it's authenticity. Here are some of their conclusions about it

(1) A fake
(2) Genuine, but bad preparation work
(3) Restored on the missing parts, with galbella and axial rings are real.

Do tell me what you think. Thank you.

[Fossildude19]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

Is there any information about where these trilobites supposedly came from?

What size are they?

Regards,

[Auspex]

Any other info you have will be helpful, but right now, to me, it's not looking good...

[Taogan]

Hello from London. These don't look good, we could do with more information.

[trilobite nut]

I haven't been doing this long, but my first impression is that it is real. To fake the outside edges like that would be far more work than what the faker would profit in return. I also believe that it is horrible prep work and that if you have anybody with experience near you that can do good prep work, have them remove the rock on top of the rest of the trilo. It looks like whoever collected it, got a lucky split on a rock and that was the extent of their efforts. All that is visible is the raised parts of the trilobite but it doesn't look like any effort at all was put in to removing the rest of the matrix. I think it's under there and worth at least a look by someone who can prep it for you. Also, if you look at the texture of the visible pieces, that again would be way too much work to fake for the money one could get for a single trilobite. Tough to really tell from a picture, but that's how I would proceed.

[PRK]

He he, those look to be trilobites from china. These doubles are how those bugs look before abrasive preparation. These specimens are dead ringers of the unprep quality of the specimens I saw/ brought back from china. The complete dorsal shield is under the matrix which just needs to be blasted off, so i then used an air abrasive on them with good results, although I don't recognize the variety of trilos

Edited March 29, 2014 by PRK

[piranha]

They certainly do look like Chinese trilobites, as mentioned the matrix and preservation are good clues. If I discover the genus on these I'll post comparison photos.

[snolly50]

If they were mine, I'd be taking away more matrix. As an experiment, you may wish to take a needle and pry at the margin anywhere the exposed "black" area abuts a higher plane of matrix. See if the matrix pops off revealing more of the fossil. Most of all have fun.

[Wrangellian]

For what it's worth, to me as a non-expert it doesn't look like any prep was done on these (or minimal, at least), and this would be a good thing because then you could take it to someone who can do the work for you.. and it doesn't look fake - if it is, it doesn't look like they were cobbled together, more likely cast as one, but then why fake something that is unprepped?

I wouldn't pry up any of the black part - if it's real and I am interpreting correctly, you want to matrix on top of the black bugs to be removed but only by someone who knows what they're doing.

[snolly50]

For what it's worth, to me as a non-expert it doesn't look like any prep was done on these (or minimal, at least), and this would be a good thing because then you could take it to someone who can do the work for you.. and it doesn't look fake - if it is, it doesn't look like they were cobbled together, more likely cast as one, but then why fake something that is unprepped?

I wouldn't pry up any of the black part - if it's real and I am interpreting correctly, you want to matrix on top of the black bugs to be removed but only by someone who knows what they're doing.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. The "black" part is the fossil. The needle prying I suggested is to be applied to the abutting matrix. In the photo there appear to be areas that are raised above the surface of the black (fossil) material. I would pry there, if it chips off and reveals more "black" there's evidence of fossil material to be revealed.

[Wrangellian]

Yes, pry the matrix not the black... OK we're on the same page!