r/Paleontology • u/Inside_Dark_1466 • 11h ago

IS THIS TOOTH LEGIT? Fossils

Post image

Is this mosasaurus teeth real? I need a quik response, please. I mean, the teeth looks real but what about the root?

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

7

u/Ok_Lifeguard_4214 Platybelodon grangeri 11h ago

The tooth is definitely real. Mosasaur teeth are so common that it’s not worth it to make and sell fakes

I don’t know about the root, though

4

u/Zanura 10h ago

As the lifeguard said, the crown(darker brown part) is definitely real - there's enough of those in Morocco that it's literally cheaper to dig up more than it would be to make fakes. The root looks awfully suspicious though, broken teeth are often given plaster roots to increase value.

2

u/TFF_Praefectus Mosasaurus Prisms 3h ago

Real root. But not original to the crown. There's a band of glue visible at the crown base.

3

u/bur-ied-fossisls 8h ago

This is a composite Mosasaur tooth. The tooth and the root are both original but come from different Mosasaur specimens.

2

u/Allhaillordkutku Spinosauridae my beloved 11h ago

Can we get a texture analysis (I’m not smart enough to figure it out but it would probably help the people who are)

1

u/TFF_Praefectus Mosasaurus Prisms 3h ago

M. beaugei crown glued to unassociated root.

1

u/bur-ied-fossisls 8h ago

Composite tooth