fossilguy312 Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Hello, I recently acquired my first trilobite from Oklahoma and am looking to confirm.... do these specimens typically show a soft orange color under a black light? I have every reason to believe that the specimen is 100% genuine but I was slightly surprised to see that the piece gives off a faint but even orange color under closely applied black light across 95+% of the fossil. There are a few spots that give off no glow/color and these appear slightly darker to the eye under normal light. The matrix obviously gives off no color whatsoever under black light. As I said, the seller (which I won’t name here per forum guidelines) is very reputable so I have no reason to doubt that the piece is original/genuine, but just looking to confirm that the faint orange glow is normal as I wasn’t entirely expecting it. I was told that no restoration/color/painting was done to the specimen. Thank you for any thoughts! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilguy312 Posted August 24, 2019 Author Share Posted August 24, 2019 And since some pictures might help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyw Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Well that’s different! I’ve heard of fossils glowing under black light. (Oreodont teeth do a lot so does amber) but I’ve never blacklighted my trilobites. Until tonight. some of them did and some didn’t. So I’d say it has something to do with the fossilization. so did a couple common shark teeth a split ammonite and a few others! Cool! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Looks perfectly legit to me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntonia Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 Yep, that is a 100% legit bug. And a nice one at that! The only reason to worry would be if sections of the trilobite fluoresce very brightly under the black light. Those slight differences in color revealed by the black light is totally normal. I have the same thing on a few of my fossils, I check them all under black light because I find the results quite fascinating. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilguy312 Posted August 25, 2019 Author Share Posted August 25, 2019 Thanks to everyone for the confirmation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntonia Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 I had one of the same species arrive in the mail yesterday, per usual I checked with the black light. It seems to be uniform in color even under the black light. (however my mild colorblindness may not be doing me any favors right now.) So I'm not sure what the variable is there. My best guess is it has something to do with what minerals and sediments latch on during fossilization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilguy312 Posted August 25, 2019 Author Share Posted August 25, 2019 @Huntonia - very interesting!! especially that even though all of these Oklahoma bugs look caramel color apparently there is something different that happened in the fossilization process even within the same rock formation. I guess like everyone said above, they can glow slightly and evenly or not glow at all... as long as they don’t glow brightly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntonia Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 Exactly. To show you what you're looking for here's a picture of my Dalmanites under black light. You can see a small spot on the pygidial spine glows under the blacklight. This is where some minor restoration work was done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Calcite often glows under UV light, and I think orange if the usual color, so if your exoskeleton is replaced by calcite(?) then I would not be surprised if it glowed orange a little bit. I don't have any experience with putting trilos under UV, though, and maybe those are aragonite instead? (not sure what color that would be, if any). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntonia Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 1 hour ago, Wrangellian said: Calcite often glows under UV light, and I think orange if the usual color, so if your exoskeleton is replaced by calcite(?) then I would not be surprised if it glowed orange a little bit. I don't have any experience with putting trilos under UV, though, and maybe those are aragonite instead? (not sure what color that would be, if any). Hmmmm. Hadn't thought of that. I will examine the trilobite further in the morning. It really is quite fascinating how much UV light can reveal about the things around us, including fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Yes.. we only see a narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 16 hours ago, Huntonia said: Hmmmm. Hadn't thought of that. I will examine the trilobite further in the morning. It really is quite fascinating how much UV light can reveal about the things around us, including fossils. Be aware also that there are different wavelengths of UV light, each more suitable than others for specific purposes. In other words, if you get use the wrong one, you'll never know that what you are looking at has been repaired or fabricated because it won't glow. 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilguy312 Posted August 27, 2019 Author Share Posted August 27, 2019 3 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said: Be aware also that there are different wavelengths of UV light, each more suitable than others for specific purposes. In other words, if you get use the wrong one, you'll never know that what you are looking at has been repaired or fabricated because it won't glow. Very interesting. How do we know if our lights are the “right ones”? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 As mentioned that's normal fluorescence, restoration glows different. Here's an example: This is how some restoration and glue glows in UV, but ok, some restoration is normal in trilobite prep (parts of skin jump, filled cracks in break, small missing pieces...not talking about 50% resto), not a problem, if sellers are honest. Restored trilobites are not worth any less time to prep (time=$$) either! But as Mark mentioned an UV light test is not a 100% way to check for restoration or fakes, some glues, acrylic color and some materials used in restoration won't glow in longwave UV, some materials won't glow in shortwave UV. Besides, some mineralization fluorescents different in different wavelengths, pink in longwave UV, blue in shortwave UV in example, some adhesives fluorescence under logwave UV, but do not fluorescence under shortwave UV. Shortwave UV (around 254 nanometers) light sometimes reveals more restoration as longwave UV light (300-400 nanometers), sometimes the opposite, sometimes the glow is not related to restoration, all depends on materials and colors used in restoration process and on preservation/mineralization of fossils... Also, the cheap made in China UV lights often have more as 400 nm wavelegth (some of those are closer to visible spectrum and are not really UV, therefore some "blacklights" are not suitable for testing resto). The best way to check for restoration is not with UV light, but knowing what fossils you buy and who you buy from... Note: While longwave UV lights (usually refered to as blacklight) are safer for the eyes, shortwave is not safe to play with! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelhead9 Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 I am suspicious that the darker spines are painted restoration. Depending on the paint used, a restored area does not always glow brightly under blacklight. Often it can appear as a "dead" black or dark brown area. Blacklights can be an incredibly useful tool in determining restoration, but interpreting what is revealed is far more complex than just "if it glows, it's restored". Interestingly, many mineralized teeth glow such a bright orange that you would swear they were fake. In addition, different stabilizers used in preparation can affect blacklight, leading to misinterpreted results. Still Life Fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilguy312 Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 @steelhead9 - interesting. thanks for sharing this information. Here is a better photo for you (and everyone) to look at showing this specimen in normal light. I really don't think the that the darker parts are painted/restored... the seller (who again I won't mention per forum rules) is very reputable as I mentioned above and assured me that there was no restoration/painting. Although it never hurts to check! Wonder if this image that is much clearer will help gain consensus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelhead9 Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Good photo, and, yes, I believe there is no resto on this piece, which prompts me to say “nice trilobite!”. Still Life Fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrodB Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 9 hours ago, fossilguy312 said: @steelhead9 - interesting. thanks for sharing this information. Here is a better photo for you (and everyone) to look at showing this specimen in normal light. I really don't think the that the darker parts are painted/restored... the seller (who again I won't mention per forum rules) is very reputable as I mentioned above and assured me that there was no restoration/painting. Although it never hurts to check! Wonder if this image that is much clearer will help gain consensus. Such a fascinating looking creature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilguy312 Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 6 hours ago, steelhead9 said: Good photo, and, yes, I believe there is no resto on this piece, which prompts me to say “nice trilobite!”. Thanks @steelhead9 !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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