Fake fossils are among us, barely noticeable to experts around the world. This is a serious problem; Fake samples can mislead paleontologists into examining an ancient past that never existed.
In a new study, my colleagues and I uncover a surprising fact about a fossil that has been celebrated for decades as one of the best-preserved fossils from the Alps.
tridentinosaurus antique It was a small lizard-like reptile that lived in the area where today’s Alps are located during the Permian period (299-252 million years ago). Discovered in 1931, the specimen was prized because scientists thought it had traces of carbonized skin visible on the rock’s surface. For generations, paleontologists thought the fossil was real, perhaps the oldest animal mummy ever discovered. This is partly because the type of protection is rare.
The fossil has been featured in books and articles but has not been studied in detail with modern techniques. Experts were not sure which reptile group the fossil belonged to. Our study hoped to resolve this and other long-standing debates among scientists.
However, our team discovered that the skin is actually fake. What was thought to be well-preserved charred skin was nothing more than the impression of a carved lizard-shaped body covered in black paint.
However, the fossil is not completely fake. The bones of the hind limbs, especially the femurs, look real. We also found some small bony scales (called osteoderms, like crocodile scales) preserved perhaps on the animal’s back.
Our preliminary examination using ultraviolet photography revealed that the dark body lines and all those bones and scales had been treated with some kind of coating material. Covering fossils with varnish or lacquers was normal practice for the last few centuries and is sometimes still necessary to preserve fossil specimens in museum cabinets and exhibits.
We hoped that the original soft tissues underneath the veneer layer would still be in good condition. But chemical techniques found that the material actually matched a type of black dye made from animal bones; This meant that the leather was actually completely beaten.
Unfortunately, this means we may never know what the original fossil actually looked like.
The circumstances behind this forgery are unknown, but we do know that it occurred before 1959, the date of the official scientific description of the fossil. However, this discovery reminds us of how important it is to report such specimens and combat fossil fraud.
History of fossil forgery
The history of fossil forgery dates back to the birth of paleontology; The first reports date back to the late 18th and 19th centuries.
This was mainly due to the lucrative market in which fossil specimens were sold to private collectors and museums. For example, an original example of _Archeopteryx_ (an avian dinosaur) sold for the current equivalent of £85,000 in the early 1860s. Some people also forged fossils for scientific and social recognition.
Famous examples include Piltdown Man (1912), an elaborate fraud involving the creation of a hominid from a mixture of human and monkey bones. archaeoraptor (1990), a chimera (a fossil reconstructed with elements from more than a single species or species of animals) created from skeletal parts of different dinosaurs to form a new specimen, was originally reported in National Geographic magazine in 1999.
Other examples include partial skulls of extinct mammals, complete with bones made of plastic. Sometimes such forgeries use a mixture of cement, resin, rock chips and dust. Counterfeiters may also use dark brown or black paint to alter the appearance of poorly preserved specimens that would otherwise be of no interest to researchers or collectors.
In this case it happened Mongolarachne chaoyangensisA giant spider allegedly found in China. In 2019, the year the first paper about it was published, closer examination by paleontologists revealed that it was a poorly preserved crayfish.
Scientists have discovered that fake specimens exist in the collections of natural history museums around the world. While new technology helps fossil studies trilobitesFurther examination of the fossil, a type of ancient marine invertebrate, also showed that many specimens were fakes.
The same thing happens with animal and plant remains fossilized in amber (fossil tree resin) obtained in historical times and recently analyzed in detail with modern techniques.
The fake fossil market is a big problem today. This is especially true in countries with less regulation. The fossil trade in Morocco alone is worth US$40 million (£32 million) a year and supplies fossil shows around the world.
Colonialism, meanwhile, suppressed local expertise in South America, with the result that much work on fossils from the region is based on specimens illegally transferred to collections in other countries, primarily Germany and Japan.
We need governments around the world to enact strict laws to protect our world’s paleontological and geological heritage.
in case of tridentinosaurus antique It is a cautionary tale. We believe our research can inform practices for preserving fossils that are no longer appropriate, such as painting over fossils, and in turn outline more ethical actions to take when a fossil is discovered.
For example, the condition of a fossil at the time it was discovered must be recorded in detail, as well as information about when and where it was found and how it was prepared and preserved. Decorations should be avoided.
We may not be able to end fake fossil making, but we are here and ready to unmask them and protect our magnificent fossil heritage.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Valentina Rossi is currently committed to University College Cork. Support of Educational Policies within the research project ‘Living with the supervolcano – How Athesian eruptions destroyed and preserved 15 million years of Permian life’ (nr. 11) receives funding from the University and Research Department of the Autonomous Region of Bolzano – South Tyrol. /34; CUP H32F20000010003) Prof. Awarded to Evelyn Kustatscher (South Tyrol Nature Museum, Bolzano, Italy).