Under Renovation Fall 2025
Here are our resources to help with identifying fake fossils. Click the ‘Resources’ tab above to see different high-level taxonomic groups, or taxa. These groups are divided by the prevalence of their fossils in the commercial marketplace. To access information on shark teeth, for example, select Vertebrates > shark teeth. To access information on trilobites, select Arthropods > trilobites. Some fossils have been divided based on prevalence or preservation to provide the most useful information for collectors, such as the distinction between dinosaur teeth and claws and dinosaur skeletons and bones.
Scientific papers that address fake fossils are available under the Literature tab as well. Fake fossils have been a challenge for paleontologists since the emergence of the discipline. Stephen Jay Gould analogized, for example, the famous eighteenth-century Lügensteine of Beringer to contemporary Moroccan fake trilobites, while fossil hoaxes like the Piltdown Man have reverberating effects in paleoanthropology today.
Fossils are the organic remains of past life on Earth. They are extremely varied, ranging from dinosaur eggshells and Cambrian trilobites to insects in amber or Megalodon teeth. Fake fossils, too, come in many forms. Some fossils are sold as something they are not: perhaps an authentic Carcharodontosaur tooth may be sold as a Tyrannosaur tooth for a substantially higher value, or a Walliserops trilobite may be substantially altered or reconstructed around an original fossil base. Some fossils are entirely fabricated, like spectacular Spinosaurus claws carved out of indeterminate bone, or cast Hydrocephalosaurus being sold as original.
This Cambropallas trilobite from the Cambrian of Morocco, for example, is a typical reconstruction paring authentic fossil remains with crudely carved replicas. The textured, brown portions of the tail, or pygidium, and head, or cephalon, are authentic, while the ruddier orange is a carved replica. Note how the stone matrix color changes on the bottom right: this portion is entirely modern material.
Some fossils are collected, exported, and sold illegally. We will also note when this is the case, and encourage potential fossil buyers to consider the ethical and legal environment surrounding their purchases. We do not recommend any particular fossil vendor, and the Fossil Authenticity Project does not sell fossils. The fossils pictured on this website are intended to be a resource to help those interested in paleontology learn more about fake fossils.