Are These Basilosaurus Fossils Real?

[Wellnhoferia]

Do you think these are real or just fabricated fakes?

[Scylla]

Well...

There are some real fossil bits sort of glued together to create a composite art project.

[josh_2727]

I'm new to fossil collecting and am trying to learn how to decipher real/fakes, could anyone describe how to spot the fakes where they glue real fossil bits together? Using the above photos, specifically the top 3, am I right to be looking at the excess white colouration along all of the cracks?

[LordTrilobite]

Personally I don't see anything suspicious on either of these pieces.

[Kosmoceras]

No red flags here, IMHO.

[calhounensis]

Everything looks legit, maybe a bit of repair where the teeth may have broken off.

[fossilselachian]

I would not recognize a Basilosaurus fossil if I tripped over it! However the bone and tooth structure look good to me (forever what that is worth)

[Dave pom Allen]

look totally authentic to me, a couple of nice pieces .

[caldigger]

Josh, the white coloration in the cracks is not an indicator of fake. As the enamel ages it may obtain fine cracks and the surrounding matrix may fill the tiny fissures with extremely fine sediments that would be extremely difficult to remove without damaging the tooth. It isn't hurting it, in fact it might actually help in holding them together.

[-Andy-]

They look real and good to me.

[Troodon]

Thumbs up for me

[Elementalmage]

Those are some great pictures. I'm not an expert with this but it looks ok to me. But must add that it's the first time that I've ever seen a basilosaurus fossil. Could be wrong.

[Boesse]

While the fossil is definitely real - there is nothing here that looks sculpted - it's not quite enormous enough to be Basilosaurus. This appears to be more in the size range of a smaller basilosaurid like Dorudon or Zygorhiza.

[Scylla]

In light of overwhelming counteropinion I rescind my doubts about this fossil. It just looked like the teeth were glued onto a different bone with plaster similar to those composite Moroccan mosasaur jaws.

[Auspex]

I think it is real, with some repairs, but I question the identification.

[Cam28]

Imho looks legit. Bear in mind many of the archaeocete whales were very similar so it may not be 100% known if it's actually Basilosaurus. More than not, sellers put such titles when they can for maximum profit

[Redlichia]

Authentic but I'm not sure for the ID.

[Boesse]

Actually, I'll revise my statement: these specimens are absolutely tiny, and definitely are NOT Basilosaurus.Most teeth of Basilosaurus, including the root, are longer than 10 cm. This is some other, much smaller basilosaurid, and is probably even too small for Dorudon.