Real Trilobite?

[JBGood]

 

How real does this look to ya'll

 

 

 

 

 

[JohnJ]

@JBGood I've moved your post to its own topic and removed your unwanted photo. 

 

Our trilobite experts will see it soon.  Welcome to TFF.

[LordTrilobite]

It looks like it could go either way, real of fake. But better and more detailed photos are needed to know for sure. Fake trilobites often have less detail than real trilobites. air bubbles from molding can also often be seen on fake ones.

[aeon.rocks]

As lord trilobite mentioned, it`s not an easy choice, you would need better photos.... If I had to bet, I would say it looks real, Cyphaspis boutscharafinense from Oufaten Mt. from Morocco. Hard to say if all parts are 100% natural, but lack of detail is sometimes the result of a quick prep, typical for commercial specimens. 

 

If you`re looking to buy, given the condition of preparation, it should be priced very cheap. These are not really easy to prep nicely, it is an amazing species when prepped with more details preserved as on photo below, but the specimen in question probably didn`t take more than a few hours to butcher.

 

 

[sseth]

21 hours ago, aeon.rocks said:

As lord trilobite mentioned, it`s not an easy choice, you would need better photos.... If I had to bet, I would say it looks real, Cyphaspis boutscharafinense from Oufaten Mt. from Morocco. Hard to say if all parts are 100% natural, but lack of detail is sometimes the result of a quick prep, typical for commercial specimens. 

 

If you`re looking to buy, given the condition of preparation, it should be priced very cheap. These are not really easy to prep nicely, it is an amazing species when prepped with more details preserved as on photo below, but the specimen in question probably didn`t take more than a few hours to butcher.

 

 

Butchered is an interesting term.  I am guessing, perhaps that you do not understand that trilobites, like many other fossils, are found in various states of preservation.  The one in your photo is exceptionally preserved, but that is the exception.  I can tell you exactly how long it took to prepare the above trilobite, because I did the preparation.  It took about 8 hours.  It was prepared using a scribe, and then air abrasives.  It did not posses any of the small spines of your photograph, rather it had tiny smoothly rounded bumps.  Because I like mine as natural as possible, I also did not apply any paint, coatings such as vinac, nor did I do any restoration.  What is yours coated with?  What about the restoration on the end of the spine where the rock was carved to look like a spine?  To each his own.

 

Before you slander someones fossil in the future, you should really understand that fossils come in all qualities and states of preservation and it is not always the result of sub-par preparation and hurried work.  I have prepared thousands of fossils from trilobites to dinosaurs and this is the case no matter what you are dealing with.

 

Just a thought.

 

Seth

[aeon.rocks]

Hi Seth,

I think not many people realize the difference between a commercialy preped specimen and a carefully preped specimen that takes a lot more time to prep and all the differences that such work requires, so in order to describe this as good as I could think of, I think term "butcher" is a good term to describe this!

 

But ok, you are right, I should have used a more respectfull term, perhaps "quick prepped" would be better? Although 8 hours probably doesn`t really sound as a quick prep, I would say that in case of Cyphaspis it is. Anyway, I did NOT and do NOT judge or think badly or slander someones fossil or work! What I meant with "butcher" in regards to trilobite preparation is just a quick preparation approach/technique! Which btw. is normal and understandable to some degree for commercial reasons! Nothing disrespectfull there!

 

You should know that Moroccan preparators are real experts when it comes to trilobites and preparation. I know many Moroccan sellers that can prep very well, better as most trilobite preparators in the western world, I don`t know any that still use hammer and nail nowadays, but all that realize prep-time is important in commercial world! Time is money! So every time you see a trilobite, preped in Morocco in a way best described as "butcherd", for sale for 50$, you have to keep in mind commercial reasons for that type of prep. Would you rather see the lable says 1500$ for that same specimen? To each his own, but I doubt many could afford it then. So to keep costs down Moroccans have their own quick way of prep which takes expertise and a lot of experiences to learn! Some moroccan trilobites and some localities are easier to prep as other and thus more commercially interesting also.

 

Anyway, it`s a pitty that majority of prepped moroccan trilobites in the market are "butchered" or even fake, especially when sold online, so most people don`t know how amazing these creatures were in detail or think most moroccan trilobites are fake (here is a topic to prove it) or that all should be priced similarly as the qucikly prepped ones they have seen for sale on some website or in ebay. You can google Otarion and see how many hits you get with pics of specimens where details are burned or look "polished" like....

 

It is not easy to prep a trilobite like Cyphaspis quickly (without major damage), especially not quick enough to be able to sell it cheap, but buyers are interested in results, some don`t even know what, how and how long it takes to prep em... In commercial preparation a decent nice preparation is simply not often possible to do cheap, so luckily "butcherd" is an alternative. And if you ask me, these "butchered" trilobites from Morocco are still selling to cheap (except when re-sold by some (not all!) non-moroccan dealers) compared to trilos from USA... I figured your Cyphaspis was preped in Morocco by an expert in commercial prep and I used term "butchered", although I realize very well many of moroccan preparators could have prepped it much nicer as me or you (if they were prepping for fun or scientific reasons)... I actually find it nicer prepped as many other moroccan trilobites sold online on the other hand, so don`t regard the term butchered as bad or offensive, it just best describes commercial type of prep and technique imho. 

 

I also understand that fossils are found in various states of preservation very well and many times one can`t do wonders with poorly preserved material, but is often possible to do the other way around - do "wonders" with good preserved material. As I mentioned these are not easy bugs to prep. I know this type of matrix and if you were working without magnification you did not even get to see the tips of the tubercules. It is difficult to notice the conus-like spine shaped tips even with high magnification, you have to know they are there before you start removing matrix and even then it is very difficult to preserve them fully, spines and such tubercles tend to break if not prepped carefully, especially in such hard glass type matrix. It`s not a surprise we see majority of commercialy prepped specimens with polished like or rounded tubercles (due to breaking&sandblasting and not due to bad preservation) in the market.

 

Preservation is important, but so is techinque and intention in case one starts preparation for commercial reasons and is trying to keep prep-time reasonable. Honestly, unless there are some diagenetic changes in matrix, i.e. pyrite-limonite and as a result dissolved parts of skin, it is hard to say the bug or details were badly preserved before preparation started in case of moroccan trilobites. Most moroccan bugs I have worked on so far (and have seen carefully preped by non-commercial preparators) were preserved with details, unless if trilobite was found on surface and weathered or had pyrite-limonite dissolved shell (you typicaly see color change from black to brownish/yellow or brownish spots). Perfect preservation is an exception in case of moroccan trilobites as with other fossils indeed, most finds are exuviae, but moroccans are experts in selecting the material collected already when found. And since a lot depends on layers and locality also, they prefer to work in more commercialy interesting ones. Sticky matrix is another matter, no trilo is perfect after prep, but some with more, some with less good prepped details. It`s understandable that it`s not allways possible to do a perfect prep job! Easy to say one specimen was preserved perfectly and other was not, but in my experience techniques and prep-time play a major role! Of course, I honestly have no idea what your specimen looked like before prep, can only judge by facts/result in low-res photo: skin is nice black, lack of tuberculation and polished like rounded tubercules suggests very quick prep approach and a lot of sandblasting. Matrix looks good and homogenous on the other hand, can`t see any trace of limonite or preservation problems, other than hard and sticky matrix. I imagine it was very sticky, but it usually always is with this type of matrix and species, due to tuberculation. The other one was not much differently preserved or differently to prep if I had to guess, but unfortunately I didn`t prep both, so I can`t say... It was in a hard sticky matrix aswell though. And it`s natural and took about 80h... So perhaps there is that difference between butchered and decent look, I imagine it takes at least 40+ hours for an experienced preparator to prep these with even more detials preserved after prep.

 

To end with, as mentioned photo is low resolution, so maybe I am wrong and looks better in hand and not butchered at all. I hope you can understand the term "butchered" in regards to prep-time at least, there is a difference if you spend 8h or 80 hours! Or in example even if you spend 10 hours more, so 8 compared to 18, difference in result could be dramatic! Not allways commercially reasonable though, but for preparing moroccan trilobites one would need to take at least 10-20 hours into account for decently preped easier species (and localities)... I am not sure how you managed to pull it of in 8h, but kudos for that.  I am sure I would have a feeling I am destroying it, not prepping, if I had to do it in 8 hours. It`s a good job if done that quickly however... Still butcherd though, but as said not meant in a disrespectfull way of course!

 

 

 

 

[DevonianDigger]

A few things you can check:

 

Take a q-tip with a small amount of acetone to an inconspicuous spot on the fossil. A cast would have to be painted and/or coated with a finish to emulate the color or a real specimen. Most of these coatings will dissolve in acetone, where a real fossil will not. If the color changes to anything other than black or a chocolate brown, there is a very good chance that it is a fake. This isn't definitive, but it's one of several non-invasive tests you can perform.

 

Check the coloration of the top of the matrix and compare it to the bottom. Casts are frequently slapped onto real Devonian rock in order to be more authentic in appearance. If there are obvious differences in coloration from the top of the matrix to the bottom, that's not a good sign.

 

Keep an eye out for tiny bubbles in the matrix and on the fossil surface. The rough prep, while common from Morocco (frequently done with a nail,) is also the number one way to mask such casting defects. If the rough prep work continues down the sides of the piece, it could be masking defects and/or a joint between real rock and cast. (Why would you nail prep the sides of a rock nowhere near the fossil?)

 

Fake trilobite adhered to a piece of actual matrix.

 

UV light can also be useful, the matrix and the fossil should reflect differently. (This isn't really sure-fire either because the Moroccan collectors frequently apply a coating to specimens that will alter the way the fossil reflects light.

 

Look for tiny fractures in the fossil itself or better yet sutures in the exoskeleton. Those are details that typically don't come through in a cast.

 

I generally don't like to link to other sites on the forum, but this article is probably pretty useful, (it was my first resource when I had the same question):

 

http://www.fossilmuseum.net/collect/faketrilobites3.htm

[Fitch1979]

@ JBgood, I do think the specimen is quite real, even to a 100%. It's roughly prepped, for the commercial circuit in Morocco. I'm quite sure there is even a blackish coating on it. 

 

Me to, I've been over 10-15 times to the area where they come from  and I can easily second every word Aeon.rocks says above .. 

[jpc]

On 10/5/2016 at 0:19 PM, aeon.rocks said:

 

spectacular trilobite, aeon.   

 

[JohnJ]

23 minutes ago, jpc said:

spectacular trilobite, aeon.   

 

 

I remember when it was first posted.