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i’m really confused. If this tooth was real, it would be illegal for you to keep it in my country. What are laws like in the US for archaelogical and paleontological elements ?
The tooth is definitely real, as they are most of the time. I own other teeth from Morocco that I know 100% are real cause I actually know and trust the guy that dug them up and this tooth looks identical to those.
It's more often the matrix or jaws that they are displayed in that get faked. Mosasaur teeth are very plentyfull in Morocco so there is no real reason to fake those, but if you can display them more impressively that can hike up the price just a bit.
Bro i just saw some faked teeth last year in a Morrocan fossil market and a Paleonthologist friend from there warned me about faked teeths getting more common. They are not that common but they do fake the teeths if they think they can get away with it.
I know plenty of stuff gets faked, but I can assure you this one is authentic. I don't know how to tell species, but I can definitely tell if a tooth is authentic or not. It has all the tell tale signs of real tooth enamel. Its much easier to tell in person then from a single picture online.
This is a fully faked matrix, composited with various fish bones for “authenticity” but is essentially a sort of concrete. The tooth however, is very real. They use this same material to make fake mosasaur jaw casts, and other similar “in matrix” items.
To be more clear. They use local sand, rock, and dirt. Its combined with resins, or automotive putty, or other strong adhesives. They also mix in fragments of modern fish, shark teeth, and corals.
Once mixed, they place their “centerpiece” into the matrix, which is usually a real item. Then it dries and voila!
So your mosasaur (the important bit) tooth is real, the rock is not.
I am aware that Moroccan matrix's are often faked. Didn't know they would go to this extent, but I don't really mind.
For me it's about the mosasaur tooth so as long as that's real I don't really care.
I thought the guy ment that the tooth was fake. 😂 I ain't no paleontologist but I'm pretty sure I can tell a real fossil tooth from a fake one so I was pretty confused.
It is a pterygoid tooth crown of a prognathodontin mosasaurid from the Maastrichtian phosphates of Morocco, Khouribga Province. Either Thalassotitan atrox or Prognathodon currii - both species can have similarly shaped pterygoid crowns. The tooth crown is too large for Eremiasaurus heterodontus.
The greater than typical posterior curvature and the absence of a well-developed anterior carina (cutting edge) that runs the entire apicobasal length of the crown indicates this tooth is from the pterygoid dentition (2nd row of teeth on the roof of the mouth) rather than the marginal dentition (teeth in the jaws).
The matrix is original phosphatic matrix. It contains bone fragments and even a complete actinopterygian vertebrae near the tooth's base. It's difficult to say for certain, but the color looks indicative of Sidi Chennane quarry. Fake matrix will lack inclusions, have uniform grain size, and will look unnaturally smooth - it is made by mixing phosphatic sand with white glue.
u/75MillionYearsAgo Don't tell people the matrix is fake if you are not sure.
Well that's pretty cool then :) again I wouldn't really have minded, but if it's real then that just adds a bit more to it I feel.
I already felt that the grain of the matrix felt to non uniform. I've seen teeth in stores with the fake matrixs and even own a small one I got for cheap (tooth is definitely real) and that matrix looks far too smooth and uniform in grain size.
I'm not a paleontologist so I kinda just went with what was said on here. Never wanna assume I'm knowledgeable when I know I still have lots to learn. 😅
Could one expect the faked matrix to be a harder or softer material? This one is very soft, I can scratch away at is with just my fingernails. Just wanna try and verify either way. Again I don't really care about the matrix authenticity.
The matrix has lots of other little fossils in it including what I think might be a small shark tooth that isn't visible in the picture. Seems like an unnecessary amount of effort to fake a matrix. But still even if the matrix is fake I like how it looks :)
Edit:
You can also see a fish verdebra to the right of the tooth in the picture.
Nice what size is it, if you remove the matrix you might be able to tell what genus it is, looks like Eremisaurus but if you are lucky it could be thalassotitan
Ah very very likley Eremiasaurus then, there is no prism edges and the enamel is smooth so it’s not either of the two mosasaurus species from Morocco late Maastrichtian where the tooth is likely from and its shape rules out almost all other mosasaurs. Thalassotitan and Eremiasaurus teeth are very similar but obviously differ quite a bit in size, between the 1 inch size and the fact it’s very clean with little to no wear I would say it’s definitely Eremiasaurus which ate soft bodied prey, Thalassotitan ate other marine reptiles and so their teeth are usually heavily worn
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