This is Trilobite Tuesday post #12.

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This is a completely faked trilobite assemblage, with all individual trilobites made of resin on an underlying plastic film and all mounted on real limestone matrix; the castings are of: Leonaspis, Walliserops, Crotalocephalus, Paralejurus, and something unidentified on top (left image), and Odontochile, Psychopyge, Phacops and Scutellum (right image). Photography: Sonntag, specimens owned and sawed up by Burkhard.

If you love trilobites and want to own some of the more charismatic species, you probably will have to purchase a few.  There are numerous shows where you can find vendors that will sell specimens from all over the world.  And, while we all want to trust these vendors, it makes sense to know what you are buying.  That’s when the Fake Trilobite page over at the Virtual Fossil Museum comes in handy.

They have a great tutorial that explains what signs to look for when you are ready to purchase that next awesome specimen you come across.  They actually sacrifice specimens looking for fakes.  Sometimes by even cutting them in half!  And, in doing that lay bare the methods used to create fake fossils.

We have as trilobite collectors and preparators visited numerous fossil shows and carefully observed and studied faked trilobites. This experience and knowledge acquired over many years affords us the ability to quickly identify faked specimens, a task that is likely precluded for laymen who are unfamiliar with how fake trilobites are fabricated, and therefore unable to spot the cues of fakery. It is unfortunate that, at this time in 2003, the trilobite market is inundated with fakes, and as the skills of those plying the trade are continuously improving, making it ever harder to distinguish real from fake. Accordingly, we are compelled to share in a comprehensible way our experiences in recognizing fake trilobites.

We also note that there is no way to have trilobites vetted for authenticity in commercial venues, such as the internet, especially e-bay, in shops or at shows, and no actions are taken against sellers who knowingly sell fake material (i.e., like exclusion from shows and/or legal action). The environment facilitates some dealers in taking advantage, to the detriment of those who are honest. Horst Burkard undertook to investigate the multiplicity of fake trilobites coming from Morocco by the ultimate means of dissecting them with a saw. The results of the destructive investigation were displayed during the Hamburg Fossil Show in 2003, which allowed the photos in this article to be taken.

By the way, the Virtual Fossil Museum is a great resource!