Spinosaurus teeth: identification limits and buyer evidence

What morphology can establish

Spinosaurid teeth are generally conical rather than blade-like and can show longitudinal surface texture. Those features can support a broad identification, but photographs or a single isolated crown may not justify a precise species claim. Ask the seller to state the identification confidence, comparative basis, formation, and whether a qualified specialist examined the specimen in person.

What to inspect

• Unedited daylight photographs, both sides, base, tip, and full circumference.
• Sharp macro images of surface texture, cracks, seams, and repaired areas.
• Whether the root is original, reconstructed, composited, or absent.
• Added matrix, filler, adhesive, paint, and the stated restoration percentage.
• A written distinction between observed anatomy and seller inference.

UV fluorescence may reveal differences among some adhesives, fillers, coatings, and fossil material. It cannot independently prove species, legality, or complete authenticity, and a lack of visible fluorescence is not a clean bill of health.

Moroccan origin and export records

Jurassic Depot has not yet verified a sufficiently clear current primary-government source to publish a broad legal conclusion for Moroccan commercial fossils. That uncertainty is disclosed on the Morocco law page. A buyer should request exact locality, collector and date, authority to collect from the site or concession, export and customs records, and a chain of custody tied to the tooth. A seller-made certificate is not a government permit.

Avoid prevalence and price claims without data

Jurassic Depot does not claim that a particular percentage of online teeth are fake, misidentified, or composited because it has no representative audited dataset supporting that number. It also does not publish an unsourced price range. Compare completed transactions only when taxonomic confidence, tooth dimensions, completeness, repair, restoration, documentation, date, and sale terms are genuinely comparable.