Feathers in Burmite

[Mahnmut]

Hello together,

 

I have been finding online offers of feathers in Burmite recently, some look rather like recent birds´, other look structurally different at least to the everyday feather you get, the later often called dinosaur feathers. Price range is enormous.

Any advice on how to recognice the good ones?

I wouldn´t expect to afford a nonavian dinosaur feather, but a cretacious Bird would be nice, if real.

Thanks in advance,

J

[LordTrilobite]

You won't be able to distinguish avian from non-avian in most cases. Only the most primitive feathers will likely belong to non-avian theropods. But even many theropods have the most "modern" derived feathers we also see in modern birds. So even if something looks like an advanced feather it might still be non-avian. And modern birds also sometimes have feathers that look a bit more primitive, like the ones on the ostrich.

[Mahnmut]

Thanks, thats already good to have in mind!

with a modern looking feather you won´t be sure, but it could always be...

 

Leaves the bigger question how to spot the fakes.

[digit]

2 minutes ago, Mahnmut said:

Leaves the bigger question how to spot the fakes.

And that's the $64,000 question. (Obscure reference from old US game show.)

 

From photos along it can be difficult to spot well-made fakes. Even having some in hand and subjecting them to various tests can be a bit inconclusive. We've seen a lot of obvious fakes with modern day bugs of all sorts suspended in amber colored resin glues. Most of those tend to be fakes with cheaper price tags so the risk is not too great. If you are looking for a more rare item like a genuine feather encapsulated in Bermite, the best I could suggest is to try to go with a dealer that has a long record of dealing with legit fossils of this type. If it looks too good to be true from the price then I think you already have your answer as to the authenticity. I doubt there will be any "deals" out there for actual nice specimens of the kind you are looking for. You can try posting whatever photos you have access to on any pieces you are considering buying and those on this forum with experience with such things may be able to spot any telltale warning signs--but in my opinion it is like buying an unknown painting (supposedly) from a famous painter in that it involves risk and faith.

 

Hope you find something to fill that hole in your collection and that you navigate the pitfalls to find an honest dealer and a special specimen.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[LordTrilobite]

Of all the amber pieces with feathers I've seen online I don't think I've seen a single one that looked fake. Granted I haven't bought any of them to check for sure. I have seen obvious fakes with insects in them though. I reckon those are probably easier to make. As a rule fakes tend to have a cleaner look. Fake mosasaur jaws nearly always have a matrix that looks too clean and uniform. With amber I've seen the same thing where there is an insect enclosed in the "amber" but not a lot of other gunk. Most of the time real amber doesn't have a very clean look and there's all sorts of junk in there.

The amber with feathers that I have looked at from under a microscope was absolutely packed with all sorts of stuff, from ants and centipedes to disarticulated insect legs to leaf fragments to unidentifiable junk, as well as the feathers of course. The amber itself is also often not uniform in transparency, while fake amber seems to have a more clean look most of the time.

 

So I would say look for that ones that aren't actually that pretty, as they are more likely to be real.

[digit]

Useful tips--thanks!

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[caldigger]

If you see one that is shaped into a quill pen, you might want to pass on it.

[Mahnmut]

Thanks,

that´s some good advice.

here is one ongoing auction I have in mind that looks semi-clean. if it´s fake someone took some effort to put other stuff into it, but not too much. And some other offers from the same seller look quite "clean", to good to be true.

Don´t know if I may post pictures from that site here?

Cheers

J

 

 

[digit]

You can post photos from an auction site as long as the seller is not directly indicated. TFF can't risk the (unfortunate) liability of someone here saying the items is fake and impugning the reputation of the seller and having them attempt to file suit against TFF. As long as you post a photo of a particular specimen on offer which does not directly show the seller's identity and as long as our members contain their comments two what they see in the specimen and don't go beyond this to call the seller's reputation into question, then you should be alright.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Mahnmut]

Thanks Ken,

understood.

So thats the thing in question.

[daves64]

Yeah, I'd say it's genuine. And it looks like there may be at least part of a bug on the right side as well. Or at least something that looks like a bug.

[connorp]

Looks good. There are a few other tests you can run once you have it in hand – they're described in a bunch of threads here.