New Keichousaurus - Is He Real?

[-Andy-]

Hi all.

I just visited a Chinese mineral shop recently, and acquired this lovely 15" Keichousaurus plate.

Got it for a decent price, but I have to admit there are dubious areas like the head and too-perfect tail.

It is acid-prepped though, and I see calcite lines running across, so I assume these are good signs?

[Kosmoceras]

Part of the middle spinal cord section looks like once block rather than individual vertebrae. However, this could be just because of the preservation. Looks a bit painted to me, the ribs are un-even in width. Look at the bones under magnification and look for detail on the bones. You could also try some prep on the side of one of the bones, scrape away carefully at the side of one with a dental pick and see if you can expose some more bone. Could also try some acetone to see if it is painted. This would then allow you to see if the “bones” are genuine or the same colour as the matrix.

[Sélacien34]

Really looks to a fake, sorry. You should scrape a bit of a "bone", there are good chances that it is a resin.

[Stonebone]

The difference in the size of the bones of the rear feet looks suspicious.

[CH4ShotCaller]

Just my 2 cents worth, if it's a fake, it would still be a good display/centerpiece and could be used to assist you in identifying how to spot other pieces that are fake or greatly 'enhanced'. If it's been partly restored, it's less than perfect, but still a good lookin' fossil. If it's the real deal, you got yourself a good piece. I still think, either way, it's nice.

[Auspex]

Like so many I have seen, it looks to have been prepared with a grinder, without much effort to preserve the details of individual bones. Separating the over-prepped from the restored will require close examination with a loupe, but it may well be essentially genuine.

[Sélacien34]

Bizarre, members do not seem to have the same proportions and not very symmetrical , do they have the same length everywhere?

[Mr_ed]

Beautiful piece.. what are the straight likes on the background? That guy has over 100 vertebrae. Very nice .. hope it is real .. but even if it isn't , its nicely restored or a good replica..

Cheers

Ed

[-Andy-]

The straight lines should be calcite lines.

This is what happened after I washed and scrubbed him, and rubbed acetone all over his entire body.

His head, neck, fingers, and tail have lost all of their color. There is a straight semi-translucent white outline around him, and a few of his bones have also lost some colors.

The really strange thing is that despite being colorless, the bones are still protruding out of the matrix (even the fingers), and do not seem to be resin. I've tried poking them with a hot needle, and scrapped at them with my fingernail and even a penknife, but they stayed firm.

An expert whom I showed it to believes it could possibly be a genuine Keichousaurus with a terrible prep job, and the China guys decided to enhance him with paint.

[Auspex]

...An expert whom I showed it to believes it could possibly be a genuine Keichousaurus with a terrible prep job, and the China guys decided to enhance him with paint.

It seems that this is often the case; produced for quantity, not scientific quality. They fill a purpose as impressive decor at a reasonable price.

[Kosmoceras]

Very interesting to see the results!

The really strange thing is that despite being colorless, the bones are still protruding out of the matrix (even the fingers), and do not seem to be resin. I've tried poking them with a hot needle, and scrapped at them with my fingernail and even a penknife, but they stayed firm.

I believe the bones were carved out of the matrix rather than made from resin or alike.

[Sélacien34]

Very interesting to see the results!

I believe the bones were carved out of the matrix rather than made from resin or alike.

Do you mean it would be a relief sculpture?

[4circle]

Obviously it's difficult to provide a conclusive answer from looking at the photos alone without the specimen, but the head, neck and tail are definitely fake I'm afraid. I was highly suspicious from the first photos as these regions are so much more defined than than the trunk. The washed and acetoned check you've done which has removed these (and just left plain - i.e. carved - relief) confirms this I'm afraid. This applies to the limb extremities also. The white lines around this trunk region are an adhesive which has been used to bond what may well be genuine material to the surrounding matrix. They're not calcite.

In response to some of the suggestions above: the ribs don't have to be perfect and all the same width. There are many taphonomic and poor prep explanations for this. It's possible the trunk region *may* be genuine. Some of the regions in the pectoral and pelvic girdles do show poorly-prepared bone in matrix which had been painted over in the first photos but revealed in the second, and based on this, I'd suggest the trunk region began its life as a partial specimen.

The lines in the original are often added (or also common are things that are made to look like repaired cracks or calcite veins) to add 'authenticity', but as you can see they washed off. Had they been real, they would penetrate all the way through the slab. Real Keichousaurs can't easily be acid-prepped, so if it looks this good it's probably fake.

Having examined many "Keichousaurus" for authenticity and insurance valuations, I have to say that the most common type of fake is where a partial specimen has been reset in new matrix slab and missing elements carved out from this and the whole thing then overpainted. Certainly among discerning collectors, complete fakes are rare (although we've seen a fair few). That said, there are many complete fakes to be found on ebay and dealers fairs. You appear to have come out with what is probably at least a partially real specimen.

[painshill]

Just a heads up for you. I'm sitting here in the UK watching part 2 of the BBC's TV series "Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures" narrated by Richard Fortey. He's just been visiting a Chinese market where a trader had fossils of various kinds. The trader proudly held up a nice-looking Keichosaurus slab and proudly said it was fake. Fortey asked if it had been stuck onto real rock and the trader said no... it had been cut with a LASER!

That's a new one for me (if true)!

[Addition] The programme has just finished. Should be available on iPlayer shortly after broadcast according to the Beeb's website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03y6tg6

Edited June 17, 2014 by painshill

[Auspex]

... it had been cut with a LASER!...

Uh oh....

[Fitch1979]

3D printing/laser technology one day will really ruin a lot of things in our hobby .. but they won't take it away from me!

Think the white/transparant line on your cleaned-up pic prolly is a kind of glue they used to stick a genuine (?) piece onto a larger slab of rock to get the rest sculpted. So most likely everything within the lines might be original. Could you get a detailed picture of the ribs etc from the center piece. And the shoulders. It looks so smooth .. wich I don't trust

[-Andy-]

3D printing/laser technology one day will really ruin a lot of things in our hobby .. but they won't take it away from me!

Think the white/transparant line on your cleaned-up pic prolly is a kind of glue they used to stick a genuine (?) piece onto a larger slab of rock to get the rest sculpted. So most likely everything within the lines might be original. Could you get a detailed picture of the ribs etc from the center piece. And the shoulders. It looks so smooth .. wich I don't trust

I don't have it anymore. I exchanged it for his paperweight (which looks suspiciously like a hadrosaur egg) >

[Fitch1979]

rofl