Bought First Fossil, Questions

[Scrambles]

Hello,

This is my first post here, I just bought my first fossil. It was sold as a Proteus Trilobite, the trilobite itself is about an inch long, a bit less.

I've collected rocks and minerals in the past and fossils have always interested me as well.

I received this fossil, and I don't really have much reason to believe it's fake, but it didn't match the picture on the ebay auction. The seller seemed legit, I'm just slightly put off by the fact that it didn't match the pictures on the auction, and there was nothing to indicate that it wouldn't.

I just wanted to see what you experts thought. I didn't pay much for this, and to be honest I don't hate the fossil, I just want reassurance that this is real, since the pictures on the auction don't match what I received.

[Auspex]

I lightened, cropped, and enlarged the image, hoping to show more detail, but it's a little too fuzzy.

Inspect it with a loupe: look for details in the eyes, and pinhole air bubbles anywhere.

[abyssunder]

Welcome to the Forum!

I don`t think is a fake,I zoomed a little your sample.But i`m not an expert...

[fossilized6s]

Welcome.

Better pictures would help a ton.

[Fossildude19]

Also check for cracks running all the way through the matrix and trilobite, ( a sign that it is real) which, btw, is actually a Gerastos granulosus, I believe.

Better pictures will help with determining it's authenticity.

Regards,

Edited April 8, 2015 by Fossildude19

[Seaforth]

I always check for cracks like Fossildude says.

Should in most cases run through matrix & fossil.

But (in my opinion) its best stay away from these Moroccan trilobites as they are often fake or at least heavily restorend.

[Scrambles]

Here is another picture at a similar angle. It isn't as fuzzy, but I am not a good photographer! Thanks for the super fast replies!

I'm not seeing air bubbles, there does look (in my beginner's opinion) like a bit of restoration work at spots on the fossil. Oh well, it was $18, not a huge loss, have to start somewhere I guess.

[Agos1221]

It kind of looks like a gerastos trilobite to me but I am not too familair. It is also definitely real. One way to tell a fake from the real thing is luster, the sheam or shine of a fossil and also the texture of the fossil. When you go to a museum, most of the time the large dinosaur skeletons and other more impressive fossils you see are casts and not actual fossil specimens. They do this because fossils are valuable for researchers and the real specimens are not nearly as impressive to the public as they are rarely intact.

Two things to be cautious of going forward as a collector of fossils: 1.) if it is a great deal on some famous dinosaur or other species on ebay it is probably misidentified or even faked. If you go on ebay for example and search "T-Rex teeth", you will encounter many mosasaur fossil teeth, carcharadonotosaurus teeth..etc. all described as trex tooth. The point is, never trust what it is described as if you cannot positively identify yourself and if the fossil dealer does not have a good reputation. 2.) With regard to spotting fakes, the reason i brought up museums is that casts, replicas, and fakes usually lack a sheam/shine that most fossils possess. Cast and replicas are painted so they will have a fresher look, an even coloring and a dullness that is markedly different from a real fossil. Also, chimeras, or real fossils that are broken and reformed into other, more valuable fossils is quite common and harder to distinguish. Many Morrocan fossils of crocodile snouts, skulls or even mosasaur skulls are actually chimeras; mixtures of bones, glued and reformed to appear to be an unaltered specimen. Hope this helps as you go forward collecting -- it can be truly enjoyable to search and find that special specimen you have been looking for but the skeptic's eye can save you a lot of pain when you decide to make a bigger purchase.

[bone2stone]

I rarely discuss E-Bay purchases but even if it were not the one you had in mind,

the seller most likely has many of the same species.

If so what he had displayed may have been a representative sample.