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Fossil Turtle Skull


DatFossilBoy

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Hey guys,

A friend of mine just bought this turtle skull from Khouriba, Morocco and was wondering if it had any reparations/restorations or fake parts. There is one eye socket considerably larger than the other one but I don’t quite know what it means.

I don’t see any very obvious red flags but this type of fossil is very often faked.

What do you guys think? Here are some pics.

Thank you for any input :) 

Regards.

88E3F1B5-0D8F-4E1F-ACF6-E9264D48BE26.jpeg

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98AF5B6A-2518-4131-B0EC-668F809C3FCC.jpeg

EB27FFEC-AA8E-4679-BAB0-31273CA94BAD.jpeg

FD782227-E642-4A71-AF03-7ECF01A05D51.jpeg

85436B92-8633-4E40-A837-2D34D9B6A31E.jpeg

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From photos alone, obviously - nasal bone and "beak" bear close scrutiny. The entire mandible appears just suggestively shaped matrix. That may not be an intended deception, just a nod toward display enhancement. However, I do not feel so forgiving toward the other aforementioned components.

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Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

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Something about the symmetry here bothers me. The nasal and eye cavities don't seem to be where they should even in a skull distorted by partial crushing. Can't exactly put my finger on it, but something doesn't "feel" right.

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Mark.

 

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

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Sorry to say it, but I am deeply suspicious of this "skull".  The mandible, nasal opening, and much of the orbits seem to be sculpted matrix, or at least there is no bone texture.  Where there is bone, it seems to be various likely unrelated pieces fitted more-or-less into place.  At best, there are elements of the skull roof and the rest has been modeled to fill in the many missing pieces.  Of course, that is based on may opinion (not highly authoritative) of a photo which may not fully convey the actual nature of the fossil.

 

Don

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The eye sockets are way off. One goes vertical the other horizontal. I am thinking Frankenfossil!

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Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Looks like it might have some real turtle skull parts. But it kinda looks like a composite. Likely some extra random pieces of bone were used to fill in missing parts.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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Im going to side with LordTrilobite on this one.  I think he hit the nail on the head.  No pun intended.

 

RB

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  • 2 weeks later...

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