Beware of hadrosaur eggs

[-Andy-]

Whole dinosaur eggs are highly sought-after fossils. The ones usually available to collectors are Hadrosaur eggs, Oviraptor eggs and Segnosaur eggs from China. This thread deals specifically with hadrosaur eggs.

 

Hadrosaur eggs (Dendroolithus sp.) as we know from the market are in fact various dinosaur species, often hadrosaurid (many collectors/dealers lack the tools or discipline to examine eggshells under microscopes or have accredited museums examine them). Commercially available eggs vary greatly in price, anything from 150 USD to 1,500 USD depending on quality, size, hatched/unhatched and prep work. They usually range from 3.5 inches to 7 inches in diameter, and are mostly hatched types (which means the egg is in fact empty. If you prep out the bottom matrix, chances are it's hollow).

 

However, hadrosaur eggs are also one of the most commonly faked, or mistaken fossils in the world. Anything from pieces of rock, pebbles, septarian nodules, concretions, or even chemically-etched objects are sold as eggs. There are several online right now.

 

Here are examples of false hadrosaur eggs we often see in the market.

 

  

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

  
 

 

Here are examples of partial/composite hadrosaur eggs (Note these ones are real to an extent. They can be a more economical choice as long as you know what you are getting).

 

   

 

 

[-Andy-]

Here are examples of real hadrosaur eggs

 

  

 

Example of a hatchling window. Most hadrosaur eggs have this "hidden" with a matrix base

  

 

 

 

  

 

     

1) There must be eggshells present. If an egg is completely smooth, then it isn't real. These eggshells should have a pebbly texture, and look like they can be pried out (not that you should try to). Real example below:

2) There should be cracks within the egg. Certain factories in China have mastered the egg of crafting fake eggs, but their cracks are shallow or drawn. Real example below:

3) There should be imperfections within the egg. I am talking about deformities, crushed shapes, inconsistent colors, cracks running through it, patches of repairs, or with hatchling windows. Also, true eggs are never perfectly spheroid. Real examples below:

    

4) True eggs have nothing to hide. Fake eggs may have a thin layer of matrix scrubbed over the surface to seem as though there are fresh off the ground. Prepped eggs have the matrix removed. Unprepped eggs may have a crusty matrix on the top which may require special tools to remove. Real example below:

  

After prep

 

5) No two eggs are exactly alike. If an egg you are considering looks as if it has an exact clone elsewhere, it's probably fake. China factories churn out these things by the hundreds.

If in doubt, ask the forum before purchasing. There are plenty of experts here glad to help. Have fun shopping!

[Ramon]

Thanks for the Information andy!!! I'll be aware of fake ones if I buy one. 

[FossilDudeCO]

Thanks Andy!!

Very good guide!

[LordTrilobite]

Good guide.

I have a partial/composite Hadrosaur egg myself. Before I started prepping it was indeed covered with a thin layer to visually blend the fake and real parts together. Only after prepping was it clearly visible that only the top of my egg was real.

[Ash]

Good post, Andy, but should probably be in the "Is it Real/Recognising fabrications" section

[HamptonsDoc]

Great info. I'm currently road tripping through Southern California on my way to Tucson later this week and just saw some composites and fakes in a rock shop in Palm Springs yesterday. 

[BadlandTraveller]

Great guide thanks for sharing it.

 

I see many of the fakes get sold weekly on auction sites so it seems to be as big of a problem as ever.

[GriffA]

Hello, 

Newbie here. I have seen one of the items in the images above, the center image in the top row on the first post. What is that?

 

Thank you!

[Fossildude19]

11 hours ago, GriffA said:

Hello, 

Newbie here. I have seen one of the items in the images above, the center image in the top row on the first post. What is that?

 

Thank you!

 

 

Probably not any kind of egg. 

Looks more like some sort of calcitic nodule or concretion. 

[GriffA]

3 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

 

Probably not any kind of egg. 

Looks more like some sort of calcitic nodule or concretion. 

Thanks! I didn't think it was an egg. I had a chance to get a pair for next to nothing so I was wondering what it really was. Of course, the seller just said "dinosaur egg". I haven't received them yet but for the low price it was worth it to get out of curiosity. I was leaning to some type of nodule as well. 

[Yoda]

On 4/20/2021 at 5:44 AM, GriffA said:

 

Newbie here. I have seen one of the items in the images above, the center image in the top row on the first post. What is that?

 

These are very common on that auction site