Is this Brittle starfish real or fake?

[Hotaru009]

I am thinking of purchasing a brittle starfish fossil for my mom as a Christmas gift (she LOVES starfish), but I'm aware of how there are a lot of fossils that are fake (i.e. near perfect or "Morocco" fossils). 

Attaching pictures from the seller. Listing says they are classified in the Ophiuroidea Order, originating from Hakel, Lebanon. There is also an unknown heart shape formation on the slab. 

Is this real or fake? Should I buy it? 

Thanks!

[oilshale]

Brittlestars from Lebanon are quite common - so far I never saw a faked one. 

But this slab looks a bit strange. Not like the normal slabs from Hakel or Hajula.

Let's wait what others think.

 

[abyssunder]

It's little "peppered" price, but I don't think they are fake. If they are from Lebanon, there is a  possibility for being Geocoma libanotica.

 

Original description (in Latin) of †Geocoma libanotica König 1825 :

 

"
Ophiura, Lam. (Zoophyta. Echinodermata : pedicellata
Fig. 26. Ophiura Libanotica. n.
Hab. in calcario fissili piscium exuviis Montis Libani, cujus saxi fragmenta Museo Britannico oblata sunt ab Honorabili Domina Esther Stanhope. "

 

 

Ophiura libanotica is recombined as Geocoma libanotica according to G. Boehm 1889.

 

" 3. Geocoma libanotica, König sp.
1825. Ophiura libanotica, König. Icones fossilium sectiles, T. II, F. 26.
1858. Geocoma libanotica, Heller. Stelleriden, p. 166, T. IV, F. 1—3.
1869. „ „ LUTKEN. Additamenta, III, p. 75 und 107.
1876. Ophiura libanotica, Quenstedt. Petrefactenkunde Deutschlands, Bd. IV, p. 146.
1878. Ophiura (Comatula) libanotica, O. Fraas. Aus dem Orient, II, p. 89, T. II, F. 1.

Aus der oberen Kreide von Hakel im Libanon.
Beschreibung, Abbildungen und die von mir in Berlin und Strassburg studirten Exemplare sind ganz unzulänglich; doch liegt natürlich eine Ophiure und keine Antedon (Comatula) vor.
Auch diese Art ist zoologisch nicht zu definiren. "

 

Reference :

 E. König. 1825. Icones fossilium sectiles.

G. Boehm. 1889. Ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss fossiler Ophiuren. Berichte der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Freiburg 4:232-287

 

 

[Hotaru009]

Thanks for the responses! I'll probably look around a bit but I'm leaning on the belief it isn't fake. Possibly altered maybe but they look more genuine than some of the starfish I have seen from other websites.