Moroccan Fossils
5 messages in this thread
Dear Mike,
I'm obviously new to this forum. From your answer to Rob Sacks about
collecting 300 lb of Green River fossils, I can only assume that you're very
involved in the hobbie. Are you involved in the retail end??
Regarding the "faked" Moroccan fossils, I've seen many plaster or calcium
monohydrate cast reproductions of those large Moroccan Phacops, but I would
think that only a cursory look at the matrix stone would alert even the casual
observer to a cast reproduction. I've never seen these casts misrepresented
anywhere. However, I have recently seen several large trilobites that made me
wonder…
I saw several Dicranurus monstrosus of about 3" size, very well prepared on the
same dark black marble matrix I'm used to seeing the Phacops on. Their forms
looked so identical that I took a photo to compare to my own specimen. As
expected, the matrix and the pose of the specimen was slightly different.
Whew! I'm also familiar with those large 6-15 inch long Paradoxides from
Morroco. Beautiful, painted a tanned ochre like limonite on well-prepared
platters, each specimen weighing from 5-20 lb. I couldn't resist and acquired
one when I was in Seattle a few years back. Then recently I saw an astounding
picture of a Selenopeltis 7" specimen ($1000) on the same marble matrix,..then
another one of similar size at the local Nature store right here in Honolulu!
Then I saw a photo of a beautiful Koneprusia brutoni trilobite 1.5" again
chipped out of the same dark matrix. Of course, I know they're genuine. But,
they must be so plentiful! I can imagine cheap labor and all, but they must
really have a mother-lode of beautiful available, somewhat affordable fossils
and an army of technicians chipping away, preparing them. Makes me wish I
could go to Morocco if only to see where these fossils really come from,…and
maybe score a bunch of really primo specimens!!
Can you or anyone tell me about Morocco?? There's precious little information
on the giant Paradoxides, the multitude of 5-6" Phacops, and the Dicranurus.
And their "prices" are so reasonable compared to Ardmore, Oklahoma's prices…
Incidentally, I did have problems with mold growing on my Hoekaspis and my
Hemirrhodon amplipyge specimens. This was really gross, to think that there
was enough biologically active stuff on my fossils that can still decay after
all these hundreds of millions of years! I think the specimens are stable
enough to take a blast of Tilex, but I really ought to ask someone who
knows….
Will look forward to any replies…
-Joseph
I, too, have wondered about the fossil business in Morocco. It must be
extensive. But I also have a vague memory of hearing that their government has
grown concerned about this outflow of natural manterial, and was going to clamp
down on it…
Mold eating away at stone fossils? There couldn't be any biological mmaterial
left. It mmust've been eating something else.
John,
I swear to god that it's mold growing on my Hoekaspis and my Hemirhodon
amplipyge. On a separate case a few feet away, I also had some antlers I was
saving to use to pressure-flake my stash of flint, and the antlers were
similarly blighted with a light dusting of mold, complete with a powdery
blanket of spores shadowing the antlers on bare glass. The humidity in
Hawaii's pretty high, though nothing like Hong Kong or Thailand. Anyway, all
the adjacent fossils to the above-mentioned trilobites are entirely free of
"mold." There's got to have been some sort of organic residue or carbon-film
that provided enough nutrients for the saprophytes. I was entirely disgusted
with the whole thing!!
Thank goodness none of my coprolites were moldy! That would've been too much.
Incidentally, does anyone out there in cyberspace have any Moroccan connections
here (USA) to access specific specimens???
-Joseph
Welcome to the forum Joseph
I am definitely not a dealer, just a distracted collector. I am by no means
knowledgeable about all Moroccan fossils, and am particularly ignorant about
trilobites. My aspersion is based on the "ugly" polished orthecera and other
ammonites.
My main interests are of local Miocene marine fossils (Olympic Peninsula
region) and Eocene plant fossils (Chuckanut Formation)
Michael