BUYER BEWARE : Expanding their Repertoire of Fake Fossils

[Fossildude19]

Chinese are now faking Butterfly and Dragonfly fossils.

Here are some examples of some current auctions.

They are getting sneakier, for sure.

Buyer, beware....

[Raggedy Man]

Thanks for the heads up Tim. They are kinda cute though, in a see what my 5 year old can do sorta way.

[Fossildude19]

No problem.

Was a bit perplexed when I saw the listings, but they have some people bidding on them.
A shame.

Regards.

[PaleoWilliam]

That stinks.

[Auspex]

If they are being offered as anything other than decorative crafts, it is fraud.

[Fossildude19]

They appear to be coming from Germany, and listed as being from Liaoning, China.

The seller has some multiples, very artistically arranged, and some singles, and for an added perk, a butterfly in association with a another single butterfly wing.

They are advertised in this manner:

" Rare Chinese Best Triassic insecta hexapoda Real Dragonfly"

Location: Western Liaoning

This is the Actual item for sale. A unique piece of cutting shape.

We provide photo of every possible angle under natural light condition.

The specimen itself is rare. This specimen died on its back belly up.

To the best of my knowledge this specimen has not been tampered with and is original.

UNREAL!

[Auspex]

"A unique piece of cutting shape"...What the heck does that even mean?

[Fossildude19]

I've got nuthin'.

[Auspex]

"A unique piece of cutting shape"...What the heck does that even mean?

I've got nuthin'.

It could be mangled English for "sculpture"...

[Seaforth]

Still, these are easily detected as AT LEAST suspect.

Its the higher end forgeries that scare me more

[Manticocerasman]

Have you seen that every dragonfly is completely identical, note the position of the legs and the little damage in one of the wings.

[jpc]

I was gonna ask a question to the dealer on one of these dragonflies, but you have to be an ebay member and I have no desire to join. Have any of you guys actually commented on these on his ebay site? Could be a fun discussion.

[Fossildude19]

JP,

I figure it is not worth the hassle to inquire about these things. I just shake my head, and infrequently post here in the fakes forum.

The other thing I noticed was that the matrix looks too uniform 0 like cement or plaster.

It is also gray, which is not the color of normal insect fossil matrix from Liaoning... the matrix from there is brownish/greyish tan in color,

...and the fossil insects are compression fossils or carbonaceous films, rather than actual imprints or casts.

The insects normally show up looking a darker brown than the matrix:

It pays to be informed.

Regards,