Use of CT Scanning and Radiography as Legal Expert Evidence in Paleontology (Trilobites of Morocco)

This study presents CT Scanning and radiography techniques applied to invertebrate paleontology, specifically to the detection of trilobites forgeries in Morocco. A well-known technique uses ultraviolet rays to detect falsified resin elements in trilobites. This technique is very effective for the trilobites of the Ordovician of Russia, although it is also used in specimens from other regions as we can see in figure 1: a topotype of the Upper Ordovician of Morocco, Uralichas hispanicus tardus Vela & Corbacho, 2009. This technique is not entirely reliable since it only detects the resin but not the density difference of different broken pieces that can be present in an authentic trilobite and its matrix, so these parts could belong to different specimens. This problem is solved with the utilization of a CT Scanning and in some cases with simple radiography. This paper presents mainly holotypes, paratypes and other specimens included in scientific articles, belonging to the Lower Ordovician, Upper Ordovician and Middle Devonian. The authenticity of the figured specimens are further substantiated and demonstrate that they retain the necessary characters to make an accurate description of the designated new species