Interesting Fake

[Oddball]

I bought this piece at an open air market in Valparaiso, Chile. Unusual since it's not from Chile and originated from the Santana Formation, Ceara, Brazil. It's a very poorly made composite that was labeled as a Vinctifer. I usually pass these by but, the front half of the fossil intrigued me. The scales are shaped as those of an Atractostidae (gar). The rear portion is who-know-what after all of the sanding to form a general shape of a fish tail. Anywho, after agreeing to pay in USD, I was able to haggle the piece down to $8. I later decided to leave the composite intact (I was originally thinking of removing the back half and cleaning up the head of the piece)to use as an example of what to look for in fakes and for the story value.

[Jesta384]

I bought this piece at an open air market in Valparaiso, Chile. Unusual since it's not from Chile and originated from the Santana Formation, Ceara, Brazil. It's a very poorly made composite that was labeled as a Vinctifer. I usually pass these by but, the front half of the fossil intrigued me. The scales are shaped as those of an Atractostidae (gar). The rear portion is who-know-what after all of the sanding to form a general shape of a fish tail. Anywho, after agreeing to pay in USD, I was able to haggle the piece down to $8. I later decided to leave the composite intact (I was originally thinking of removing the back half and cleaning up the head of the piece)to use as an example of what to look for in fakes and for the story value.

i would love to see some higher res/clse up pics maybe w/ circles and arrows photoshoped/paintshoped in to the pic..im sure it would make a good reference for us all