Moroccan Mosasaur Jaw - Please Help!

[JeffConners]

So after poking around these forums, I am pretty positive that I have been duped, but please let me know what you think. Are the teeth even real? Thank you so much to anyone who can help me out here.

[Troodon]

Welcome to the forum

Your suspicions are pretty accurate it's completely fabricated

[JeffConners]

Thanks for the reply Troodon, do you think they are at least real mosasaur teeth? I am a second grade teacher, I thought this would be a really cool thing to have in my classroom, but I apparently should have done my research first.

[Rustdee]

The teeth are most likely real. It is still a neat piece for the kids. When I was in second grade I would have loved the teacher to bring in something like this.

[snolly50]

As best as can be determined by a photograph, the teeth appear to be authentic. That is typical for these "manufactured" pieces. The "jaws", matrix and layout are all crafted by a Moroccan craftsman. The jaw "bones" may be plaster, modern animal bone or cobbled together fossil shards. The regularity of your piece suggests the former possibilities.

They are real teeth from an ancient, fearsome predator. Your students should be enchanted. Just reveal the enhancements, so they will not be fooled by a similar piece in the future.

[-Andy-]

Real teeth. Fake jaw.

You could consider breaking down the entire thing to retrieve the teeth.

[JeffConners]

Thanks for the information and comments guys, I really appreciate it. I found one on ebay, is this what a genuine one would look like? I thought it would be cool to get a real one to compare and contrast with the kids.

[Mike Pocock]

Hi Jeff,

Having just completed a class for 7 & 8 year olds as long as the teeth are real they will love it, let them know along the lines of "the teeth have been put into the jaw bone that is not real to show you how the bite would look".

They will then not even conceder the jaw bone and just look at the teeth.

I think its a really good idea for a hands on fossil experience for your pupils.

Regards

Mike

[Auspex]

You have a good tool to inspire wonder

These kids won't give a whit that the jaw is constructed; they'll be too fascinated by the real teeth

[-Andy-]

Thanks for the information and comments guys, I really appreciate it. I found one on ebay, is this what a genuine one would look like? I thought it would be cool to get a real one to compare and contrast with the kids.

Here is a real one in my collection. It belongs to a Prognathodon giganteus. The second picture shows the cross-section where there is a seed tooth.

[snolly50]

Here is a real one in my collection. It belongs to a Prognathodon giganteus. The second picture shows the cross-section where there is a seed tooth.

Mosasaur-Jaw_2.jpg

Mosasaur-Jaw_3.jpg

Very, very nice piece. Thanks for posting it. It's nice to see an authentic example for a change.

[LordTrilobite]

Thanks for the information and comments guys, I really appreciate it. I found one on ebay, is this what a genuine one would look like? I thought it would be cool to get a real one to compare and contrast with the kids.

That looks like a real jaw. However, it's not Mosasaur. It's a fish.

[JohnJ]

Real teeth. Fake jaw.

You could consider breaking down the entire thing to retrieve the teeth.

I'm with Andy on this. Soaking it in water would be a start.

Kids that age really start to remember things they see, but not necessarily you telling them that only the teeth were "real".

More info.

[Fossilgrove]

Total fake.