LauraMedea Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 Good morning everyone! I'm trying to figure out how to recognize a real or fake Mosasaurus tooth root. In some the reconstructions are very evident, in this one that I give you as an example however it is a little difficult for me to determine. My doubts fall on the fact that it is a little porous and on the fact that the collar and the usual hole where the replacement teeth are formed are missing. Maybe the collar is just worn out and as for the hole, I don't know if it should always be present. From the pics I don't see any suspicious gluing between the crown of the tooth and the root, but perhaps you can find it instead. In total the fossil measures 11cm and comes from Morocco. It is identified as Prognathodon giganteum pterygoid. Thanks to anyone who can give me advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JorisVV Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 Real 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 I agree. Looks natural. Texture is right and no suspicious glue mix. 1 There's no such thing as too many teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraMedea Posted August 9 Author Share Posted August 9 35 minutes ago, North said: I agree. Looks natural. Texture is right and no suspicious glue mix. Thank you for your reply! Could I just ask you a thing? I read that the porous root, a symptom of fragility, can be a red flag for a fake as it is supposed to be very strong bone structures. But I don't understand...what porous material would they use to replace a missing root and simulate the fossil? Or is a very porous root a symptom of poor preservation of the root itself or of something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 52 minutes ago, LauraMedea said: Thank you for your reply! Could I just ask you a thing? I read that the porous root, a symptom of fragility, can be a red flag for a fake as it is supposed to be very strong bone structures. But I don't understand...what porous material would they use to replace a missing root and simulate the fossil? Or is a very porous root a symptom of poor preservation of the root itself or of something else? Im not sure what is meant by that, but if texture is very grainy, it means that material is not root, but instead sand, concrete etc. And sometimes animal bone is used which is porous in wrong direction (sides of the root). Here is example of fully faked root in faked matrix. Looks grainy/sandy. Comparing to natural one. Notice grooves heading towards crown/end of the root. 1 There's no such thing as too many teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraMedea Posted August 9 Author Share Posted August 9 4 hours ago, North said: Im not sure what is meant by that, but if texture is very grainy, it means that material is not root, but instead sand, concrete etc. And sometimes animal bone is used which is porous in wrong direction (sides of the root). Here is example of fully faked root in faked matrix. Looks grainy/sandy. Comparing to natural one. Notice grooves heading towards crown/end of the root. Thank you a lot for the explanation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitch1979 Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 Other than sand, they use just any piece of random bone to add to the crown of the tooth. Then they polish that piece a bit round resembling a real root. Those bones are porous by nature, being more visisble after the shape polishing. Something you would not see in real roots.. Like this one below, they make them by the hundreds per week... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraMedea Posted August 9 Author Share Posted August 9 1 hour ago, Fitch1979 said: Other than sand, they use just any piece of random bone to add to the crown of the tooth. Then they polish that piece a bit round resembling a real root. Those bones are porous by nature, being more visisble after the shape polishing. Something you would not see in real roots.. Like this one below, they make them by the hundreds per week... Ok, perfect explanation about the porosity of the root, now I'll know why it could look like this when it's fake. Thank you very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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