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Real mosasaur jaw from Morocco?


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Hi guys,

I'm thinking about purchasing this mosasaur jaw. The seller says that it is natural and it looks very real. Just want to get a second opinion.

Thank you so much!

Jojo

DSC_0297.JPG

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The jaw and teeth are real, but I'm not sure about the matrix and the teeth may be composite? I'm no expert on telling fakes, others may know more

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This one looks good. At least from just this one photo. It looks like Prognathodon sp. somewhere in the back of the jaw. It's hard to tell if it's upper or lower jaw. But I'm leaning towards lower jaw.

 

Nice piece. No red flags here.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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I had to get my ruler out to see just how big 20 cm's was?   Thats a nice big piece of jaw!

 

RB

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I see no evidence or signs which has been restored. It really is an authentic specimen and most likely Prognathodon sp. There is plenty of bone material in both the jaw and all teeth. All the joins between the tooth crowns and roots look completely natural. The signs of pitting on the jaw contributes even more to authenticity. I agree with ID of LordTrilobite. I'm not sure, but I also think it might be lower jaw (back of the jaw).

 

Below I am sending pictures of my Mosasaur Jaw (Prognathodon sp.), which is part of my private collection so you can make comparisons:

01.PNG

Is It real, or it's not real, that's the question!

03.PNG

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I also see no evidence of any meddling, but there is still one thing that seems a bit fishy. This could just be a case of image distrortion, but assuming that the end of the jaw (because it doesnt look broken off to me) is the left side, that means that the teeth are faced in reverse, towards the snout, which is never a thing in mosasaurs, probably any animal that dont have many teeth in their lifetime. This could be a perspective issue, so I may be wrong.

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_skull_schematic.png

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1 hour ago, Macrophyseter said:

I also see no evidence of any meddling, but there is still one thing that seems a bit fishy. This could just be a case of image distrortion, but assuming that the end of the jaw (because it doesnt look broken off to me) is the left side, that means that the teeth are faced in reverse, towards the snout, which is never a thing in mosasaurs, probably any animal that dont have many teeth in their lifetime. This could be a perspective issue, so I may be wrong.

You may be on to something with it not being broken off. If you are correct in that the left side in the photo is not broken off, then it looks less like a lower right jaw and more like an upper left. The maxilla actually has a pointed end at the back. So if that part is not broken off and the teeth are not meddled with, then it's just the back of the maxilla instead of the back of the dentary.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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17 minutes ago, LordTrilobite said:

You may be on to something with it not being broken off. If you are correct in that the left side in the photo is not broken off, then it looks less like a lower right jaw and more like an upper left. The maxilla actually has a pointed end at the back. So if that part is not broken off and the teeth are not meddled with, then it's just the back of the maxilla instead of the back of the dentary.

 

Would need better quality photos, preferably with the well-lit specimen. But for this single photo :blink:, I'd say the two ends are broken.

 

 

01.PNG

Is It real, or it's not real, that's the question!

03.PNG

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oh okay

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_skull_schematic.png

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Thank you so much guys for all the info! I'll ask the seller for some more photos and hopefully the position of the jaw can be pinpointed.

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