Jump to content

Real or fake?


Recommended Posts

Hello clever people,

Got these from online. Let me know what you think of them, are they fake? Especially the Spino...

Thanks!

JP

image1.JPG

image2.JPG

image3.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The three teeth on the left are real, don't know much about Megalodon teeth but seems to be real.

From left to right:

- Mosasaur tooth from the phosphate mines around Khouribga in Morocco.  Many species here so don't know which one it is from this picture alone.

- Seems to be Carcharodontosaurid indet., but would like to see more pictures. From the Kem Kem Beds, Cenomanian, Early late Cretaceous. There are two Carcharodontosaurids in the Kem Kem beds,  Carcharodontosaurus sacharicus and Sauroniops pachytholus. No way to distinguish their teeth from one another.

- Spinosaurid indet. From the Kem Kem Beds, Cenomanian, Early late Cretaceous. There are two Spinosaurids in the Kem Kem beds, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus and Sigilmassasaurus brevicollis.  No way to distinguish their teeth from one another. 

- Carcharias megalodon.  No idea about the location. 

 

  • I found this Informative 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@gigantoraptor nailed it on the first three teeth.

I will add that that first tooth, the Mosasaur, looks like Prognathodon sp.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/25/2019 at 5:48 AM, suchomimus20 said:

the megalodon tooth looks restored in the first picture.

I don't think they "restored" it, given the condition of the labial side. They just polished the heck out of the lingual side probably because there wasn't any enamel left and they wanted some form of shine on it.

Sorry, but I am not a fan of polishing fossils like that.

  • I found this Informative 2

Dorensigbadges.JPG       

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed with all what @gigantoraptor said.

 

What I would like to add:

 

- Mosasaur tooth looks very good to me. Nothing wrong with that.

- With the Carch tooth I'm having the most trouble. It seems to be there is a lot of glued Matrix on it. Always a very bad sign. 

You can take a look at this topic where I rebulid a fabricated Carch tooth.

Unforunatly I think your tooth might has a similar issue.

 

- Spino looks really nice. Can't see any obvious problems.

 

- Mega tooth looks weird. On the first picture it looks VERY polished. Sort of like a mirror. But I'm not that much into Meg teeth. Maybe some of our Meg experts can have a better opinion on the Meg tooth. 

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The meg tooth is 100% real and heavily polished .. a common and unfortunate way to bring back their former glory. The good sellers will indicate when they have been altered/polished for the buyer. 

 

Cheers,

Brett

  • I found this Informative 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/25/2019 at 5:36 AM, caldigger said:

I don't think they "restored" it, given the condition of the labial side. They just polished the heck out of the lingual side probably because there wasn't any enamal left and they wanted some form of shine on it

  You hit that nail on the head!  That is exactly what someone did. 

 

RB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, PODIGGER said:

Not having any experience polishing teeth I am curious as to - How is it done?

Grind, sand, polish-- just like a piece of wood (or any other material).

  • I found this Informative 1

Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys."

Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough."

 

My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection

My favorite thread on TFF.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ynot said:

Grind, sand, polish-- just like a piece of wood (or any other material).

Except Jello and milk. :heartylaugh:

 

 

Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, PODIGGER said:

Not having any experience polishing teeth I am curious as to - How is it done?

Starting with course grits, sanding down with finer and finer grits until smooth. Then use a polishing compound to give it the final shine.

Similar to polishing a stone cabochon for jewelry.

You can see on your Meg. tooth that they polished beyond the enamel area into the burlette and root.

  • I found this Informative 2

Dorensigbadges.JPG       

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, ynot said:

And ice!:P

Ay least you can shape ice and smooth it down. Not so much with jello or milk :blink:

  • I found this Informative 1

Dorensigbadges.JPG       

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to all for the input and suggestions.  I'll just shave the ice and add tequila to the jello when finished with the sanding and polishing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, PODIGGER said:

Not having any experience polishing teeth I am curious as to - How is it done?

LINKS

  • I found this Informative 1

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...
On 5/25/2019 at 3:04 PM, Abstraktum said:

Agreed with all what @gigantoraptor said.

 

What I would like to add:

 

- Mosasaur tooth looks very good to me. Nothing wrong with that.

- With the Carch tooth I'm having the most trouble. It seems to be there is a lot of glued Matrix on it. Always a very bad sign. 

You can take a look at this topic where I rebulid a fabricated Carch tooth.

Unforunatly I think your tooth might has a similar issue.

 

- Spino looks really nice. Can't see any obvious problems.

 

- Mega tooth looks weird. On the first picture it looks VERY polished. Sort of like a mirror. But I'm not that much into Meg teeth. Maybe some of our Meg experts can have a better opinion on the Meg tooth. 

This was very true, 

I put the tooth on acetone for a few hours and most of it was glue and junk...

Thanks 

 

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is an issue primarily with Moroccan teeth, why you need to be very cautious and not buy one unless its a slam dunk that is clearly good.  Rooted teeth are much more apted to be tampered with.   I buy all my Moroccan teeth at shows so they can be inspected.  The alternative is buy only from online sellers that accept a return with a full cash refund.  

 

I was traveling and did not see the orginal post but like Abstraktum said the resto/repair were pretty evident on that tooth.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Troodon showed some of the polished Megs on his pictures from Tuscon Show.

Polishing seems to be a common way for some dealers, unfortunately....:shrug:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if the acheulean hand axes for sale can also be dodgy? One would guess they are much easier to fake... nyone knows about it? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spinosauridae tooth is real and the mosasaur looks good too (also too common to be worth trying to fake a crown roots are different I believe) but I'm not very knowledgeable outside of kem kem and el mers group fossils of morocco, as for the carcharadontosaurid tooth it looks to be a fragment of the mesial side and then built up using sand glue other pieces. There are a lot of fragmented pieces in the kem kem these normally get sold or picked up by certain people to go to what is best to call factories from home to be made into something of value. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...