Description:

Keichousaurus

Here we are offering  a Keichousaurus hui, from Guizhou province of China.

Triassic age approx. 200 MYO

For Clarification: The white spots in the photo are reflections from my flash.

Piece does not actually appear that way.

Quality: Good

Good bone detail

Plate measures: 13" X 8 5/8"

Specimen Lenght: 10 3/4"

My pieces are professionally packed however, I include insurance to cover the cost in the case something happens during shipping.  

I am very diligent to grade each fossil fairly for its quality. Please examine each photograph for detail before purchase. Photos are very clear, so there should be no complaint of a different representation when your piece is received. 

Please read this entire listing before your purchase.

You will seldom find a 100% complete Keichousaur. If you do, it's value will be $3,000.00 to $5,000.00 for a world class museum specimen.

If you look at a listing that says 100% real Keichousaurus with no restoration, beware! 

There are two types of fossils that are seldom found complete and are museum quality specimens. One is Keichousaurs and the other is Trilobites.

Keichousaurs are seldom 100% fake but have some type of restoration to a major amount of restoration.

However, you will find a lot of trilobites that are 100% fake. The Moroccans have become masters at manufacturing trilobites. To the point that even the trained eye of the professional can not tell without looking at a specimen under a microscope.

Explanation: There are three types of Keichousaur specimens you will typically find.

(1)   Composites

       A composite is a fossil that was not complete and the person that did the preparation,        use other pieces from a different specimen to complete an entire skeleton.

(2)   Restoration

       A restoration is a fossil that is missing some minor pieces that can not composited because they can't find a piece of the missing bone that is the proper size or color or texture that matches the original specimen. Therefore the preparation artist had to recreate a bone or restore a portion of a bone with a composite material. In some cases, very small hairline pieces such as nails are even painted in.

  (3)   Fake

       A fake fossil is a piece that is all or primarily modeled with little or no real bones included.

Once again, if someone tells you that their Keichousaur is 100% real with no restoration (not fake), there are two things you need to consider. Either they are not aware that restoration has been done and were told by their supplier that the piece is 100% real or they just don't mentioning that there has been some restoration done to their piece. It is true that their fossil is most likely real, but it has had some form of composite work or restoration.

Why are composites and restored pieces OK?

I have been a vertebrate paleontologist, digger  and preparator for over 30 years. I have done preparation for museums and private collectors around the world. Through my digs over the last 30 years in the badlands of N.W. Nebraska, I have restored hundreds of skulls and skeletons. Few are ever complete and require some type of restoration.

 When you see a skeleton in a museum, in most cases, it is either a cast, a composite or has had a considerable amount of restoration and even manufactured bones. Most major specimens in museum specimens are only around 70% complete when excavated. And in many cases, when a specimen is found, it is compressed to the point where it can not be displayed in its present condition, so a whole skeleton is modeled or sculpted by extrapolating what the original bone shape may have looked like, if there is no other representative fossil to compare it to. Most dinosaur are glued together with epoxies and cyanoacrylates  (Super glue) and Keichousaurs are no different.

Examples:

At this link on my website,  

http://home.earthlink.net/~paleodigs/paleodigscom/id3.html

you can see me working on a Mosasaur at the Dallas museum of Natural History. As we mount the bones on the engineered structure, you will notice parts of bones and some bones that have been completely manufactured, indicated in these photos as white colors. (These are sculpted pieces that were stained and painted once the entire specimen had been completely mounting onto the structure.

 At this link on my website,

http://home.earthlink.net/~paleodigs/paleodigscom/id17.html

Down the page on the left side, you will several skulls combined in one photo. Some pieces are restored but not painted so you can see what shape the typical specimen you will find on our dig, what they will look like and how much will usually need to be restored. Typically on Oligocene fossils the most common pieces that need reconstructed are the Zygomatic arch, Sagittal crest, ascending Ramus of the mandible, occipital condyles, Canines, and the Incisors.

Comparison of quality of preservation of Keichousaurs to Wyoming fossil fish

Keichousaurs from China went through a similar preservation process as fossil fish from Wyoming however, for some reason, different than fossil fish found in Wyoming, Keichousaurs  are seldom found complete probably because of the minerals associated with the ashes and the speed and partical size of deposition that occurred in both instances. The fossil fish found in Wyoming had a unique preservation that made them incredibly stable, in situ. So most of those fish fossils are fossilized 100% complete.

I wish that Keichousaurs were preserved as well. Unfortunately they are not.    

I retrospect, most Keichousaurs you purchase, including mine, will have some type of restoration. But you will NOT find a better quality specimen offered on a consistent bases by anyone, than you will find by Paleodigs. We will be offering 200 plus Keichousaurs this year, so if you don't see the one that catches your eye today, keep up with us on Ebay. But be quick because they are purchased fast with our BUY IT KNOW! Listing

Why wait to bid? Buy it Now!

Signs of fake Keichousaurs 

Keichousaurs are all laid down flat in a plane. (They are compressed in the formation)

They do not come in a three dimensional positioning on a slab. If you see a Keichousaur with the ribs curved down and raised above the surface of the slab. IT IS FAKE!

With PaleoDigs, you will never need to be concerned of purchasing a FAKE fossil.

Final note of suggestion

NEVER-NEVER-NEVER- Wash a keichousaur. You will be sorry if you do.                                   Most preparators in China use acrylics to paint their restored or reconstructed individual parts of a specimen. This is because the flat texture of acrylic paints best match the powder texture of the slate. Using a sealer on top of the paint will point out the difference of the real bone and the restored bone. Always Use a soft brush to dust your piece.

PaleoDigs has primarily been a supplier for many years, selling retail at fossil shows like Tucson, Az. and a wholesale supplier to resellers here in the U.S. and in Japan and Europe.

We have decided this year to begin offering retail, once again on Ebay.

Bid with confidence!

We look forward to servicing you.

Coming Soon!

In March-A constant supply of quality Megalodon sharks teeth.

In May -  A constant supply of affordable quality Trilobites.

Book mark us!

Also you might check out our digs with Paleodigs on our other Ebay listing.