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Fake Trilobites


Ricky Suave

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The eyes and glabella look pretty real; it might be "heavily restored", though.

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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I thought the eyes looked real but there are lots of cracks in the trilobite. I seem to think it was a glue job with many trilobites. I might pick it up and put it under a uv light. If it has glowing cracks on it then we will know.

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Guest solius symbiosus

I haven't had much experience with fakes, but a couple signs that would worry me is the lighter colored matrix towards the posterior half of the fossil, and the low resolution photographs.

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Texturing looks wrong on the body , maybe the head is real and the rest carved out of rock and painted .

Just looks fake .

Hunting fossils is fun , but discovering is better !

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I thought the eyes looked real but there are lots of cracks in the trilobite. I seem to think it was a glue job with many trilobites. I might pick it up and put it under a uv light. If it has glowing cracks on it then we will know.

In the old days we were told that blacklighting and finding glue was proof of it being real, as they had to break them to find them and then glue them to expose it properly. The lighter matrix is a better indicator, but I think the "free cheeks" look like an add on or a rather good touch up.

Be true to the reality you create.

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Are these air bubbles in the matrix? that would indicate that at least the matrix is partially fake. Thats not a good sign.

If the purple color of the photo is from a UV light, the seller was probably trying to show that there's nothing funny going on.

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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I agree that portions of this fossil certianly appear to be real. The eyes certainly look OK and are hard to fake. I have been digging in Morocco and have seen how some of the fakes are made. The eyes would be difficult, but not impossible. It also appears as if you can see the original split line in the matrix in the upper portion fo the first picture, which is something this fossil should have. The back half looks too worked over, and I also agree that there looks like a lot of restoration work - since these fossils are usually prepared in Morocco with a nail/chisel/screwdriver/old piece of metal (I've seen them all) and a hammer it could just be some poor prep work.

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I saw a video on You tube of someone visiting a Moroccan "musuem" prep shop and one of the workers appeared to be painting some of the fossils to make them stand out more. I own just one Trilobite from Morocco and it's because they are so expensive. The irony is that the one I own is an obvious (to me now) fake with similar obvious sculpting and paint along the edges. When I look close I can even see where some of the fossilized cephalon chipped off. The whole fossil is painted black so unless you look close you can't see the missing bits. It's disappointing but such is life.

The tail and "backbone" of the one you posted looks really redone/rough to me.

Dave

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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This auction really worries me:

Click here

Especially because of what the seller says "As this Fossil is in very good condition it is millions of years old and there will be imperfections in it so I don't allow returns on this item. "

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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pygidium and axial lobe... ;)

Well duh! :P I mean, who doesn't know that. I may be stupid but I'm not dumb. ;)

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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a guy walks into a bar. he goes up to the counter and loudly says, "bartender! i want a moroccan pygidium, and hold the snails!" the bartender pulls out a bunch of otodus teeth and starts throwing them at everyone in the bar, screaming, "it's a desert! it's a desert!". everybody runs outside to get away from the fracas.

two buddies who had been drinking together decide to walk to another bar down the street. one of them turns and looks at the other and says, "was that real?" the other one says, "what are you talking about?" they kept walking...

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Guest solius symbiosus
Well duh! :P I mean, who doesn't know that. I may be stupid but I'm not dumb. ;)

It is just one of those things with me. Technically, only vertebrates can have tails. :)

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It is just one of those things with me. Technically, only vertebrates can have tails. :)

Yeah yeah, ok so how about those little things along the ARMS of crinoids, huh? I'll bet they aren't called fingers! :wacko:

And I do believe that COMETS and AIRPLANES have tails and they aren't even alive! :P

Dave

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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post-1112-1238209718_thumb.jpg

post-1112-1238209727_thumb.jpg

This fake trilo was opened and photographed by Danny Vitale

Wow! I never even expected that level of fakery. They basically molded a trilobite on top of the matix.

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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post-1313-1238268276_thumb.jpg

One rule of thumb I have found helps a bit is knowing how long ago the piece was collected. By that I mean when some of these things were first marketed, the dealers there were a bit clueless about the value so there was less effort at fakery-A good example is China where the first fossils that came out (to my experienc,e) were pretty easy to spot real from fake. Then they improved their methods.

On the same note, On the Moroccan I think you stand a better chance of getting the real thing picking through the old cruder preped pieces.

I posted this trilobite elsewhere, (as noted) and because I did part of the prep myself (horns and thorax) I know it is real. This one was collected some time before 1993.

Be true to the reality you create.

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post-1313-1238268276_thumb.jpg

One rule of thumb I have found helps a bit is knowing how long ago the piece was collected. By that I mean when some of these things were first marketed, the dealers there were a bit clueless about the value so there was less effort at fakery-A good example is China where the first fossils that came out (to my experienc,e) were pretty easy to spot real from fake. Then they improved their methods.

On the same note, On the Moroccan I think you stand a better chance of getting the real thing picking through the old cruder preped pieces.

I posted this trilobite elsewhere, (as noted) and because I did part of the prep myself (horns and thorax) I know it is real. This one was collected some time before 1993.

Nice horns! :)

"It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of

intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living."

-Sir David Attenborough

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I think this psychopyge is fake. It is way too good to be true. What do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...p;Category=3217

I have bought Ceratarges sp. from this "Sahara-imports" and it was pure fake.

"It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of

intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living."

-Sir David Attenborough

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