Mosasaur Verts from Morocco

[Abstraktum]

Hello everybody  

 

I got this a few weeks ago, but didn't had time to post it. It's from the Munich Fossil Show from an Moroccan dealer.

This one was sold as associated Mosasaur Verts from Morocco. No more info on location. But the dealer was Moroccan and had lots of other stuff from Morocco. 

Since it was on a fossilshow I didn't had time to post pictures here, but for me this looked good enough to get it. 

What are your thoughts on this one? I still couldn't finde any obvious fabrications. It looks good for me. More pictures can be provided if needed. 

 

And I got tow more questions:

 

Is there any better ID possible than just Mosasaur Verts? 

 

Should I prep it some more? Removing more Matrix, or the plaster from the back? I would just leave it as it is as I'm not sure if it falls apart if I remove the plaster.

 

Length is about 45 cm (17.7 inches)

 

Thank you for any help! 

 

[Abstraktum]

Two more pics  

 

[LordTrilobite]

Looks good to me. I don't see any red flags on these photos. It looks nice and messy. Looks natural.

 

Personally, prepping a thing like this, I would probably just prep a little more around the verts to accentuate the shapes a bit more.

 

Nice piece.

[ziggycardon]

Very nice verts truly a piece to be proud of!  

[Tidgy's Dad]

Nice. 

[snolly50]

I like it very much. If it belonged to me, I would....

 

Clean the exposed bone to my satisfaction...

then, brush on a consolidant covering all exposed bone, attempting to avoid soaking the surrounding matrix.

 

Next, I would remove matrix, moving deeper and deeper from the surface until I was pleased with the exposed area. The plaster could remain as a "bowl" and then the exposed plaster rim cut away down to the level of the new matrix surface.

 

From the picture alone, the matrix appears to be the granular Moroccan material that can be removed without strenuous effort. If this is correct additional prep will only require time and care.

 

Of course consolidant should be applied as new fossil material is exposed.

 

My goal would be to remove enough matrix to enhance the display of the verts. I would anticipate and hope to expose enough that the processes would be free. However, I would leave a matrix "base" (with plaster at least on the bottom) to support the string of verts.  

 

Good luck, have fun, if you choose to attempt additional prep.

[Abstraktum]

Thank you everybody!

 

I'm really happy I got the right feeling with this one. 

 

@snolly50 Yes, the matrix is basically identical to the matrix of your awesome jaw. I think it's fair to say both came from similar deposits. The surface matrix can already be removed fairly easily with just a toothbrush or a toothstick. I definetly will work on this one a little more when I have the time for it. 

 

May I add that I'm really suprised how cheap such authentic verts are being sold if you compare it to the price of jaws. Even fabricated or obviously enhanced jaws will go for 4 to 5 times the price of these verts. At least at the Munich Fossil Show. 

 

So spread some love for those poor verts nobody seems to want.  

There where some other really  nice associated verts for sale. But everyone was only focusing on jaws.