1.9" Fossil Plesiosaur (Zarafasaura) Tooth In Rock - Morocco

This is a 1.9" long, well preserved tooth of Plesiosaur (Zarafasaura oceanis), from the Upper Cretaceous 145-66 million years ago. Note the bone fragments contained in the sandstone.

Plesiosaurs were long-necked marine reptiles with four flippers that appeared in the Triassic and died out along with the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. They reached quite large sizes--some species as long as 17 meters--and caught slow-moving prey. Plesiosaurs breathed air and bore live young; there are indications that they were warm-blooded.

An artist's reconstruction of a pair of Plesiosaurs.  By Dmitry Bogdanov 

This species of of Plesiosaur was redescribed from Plesiosaurus mauritanicus to Zarafasaura oceanis in a 2011 paper which can be found at:

A NEW SPECIMEN OF THE ELASMOSAURID PLESIOSAUR ZARAFASAURA OCEANIS FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS (MAASTRICHTIAN)OF MOROCCO
An artist's reconstruction of a pair of Plesiosaurs. By Dmitry Bogdanov

This species of of Plesiosaur was redescribed from Plesiosaurus mauritanicus to Zarafasaura oceanis in a 2011 paper which can be found at:

A NEW SPECIMEN OF THE ELASMOSAURID PLESIOSAUR ZARAFASAURA OCEANIS FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS (MAASTRICHTIAN)OF MOROCCO
SOLD
DETAILS
SPECIES
Zarafasaura oceanis
LOCATION
Oulad Abdoun Basin, Morocco
FORMATION
Phosphate Deposits
SIZE
1.9" tooth, 2 x 1.9" rock
ITEM
#102096
GUARANTEE
We guarantee the authenticity of all of our
specimens. Read more about our
Authenticity Guarantee.