6.3" Fossil Mosasaur (Platecarpus) Skull Section - Kansas

Fossil Mosasaur (Platecarpus) Skull Section - Kansas #197621

This is a 6.3" long, section of skull bone from a Mosasaur (Platecarpus sp.) found in the Late Cretaceous, Smoky Hill Chalk of Gove County, Kansas. This bone was situated at the top, rear of the mosasaur's skull, near where the spine connects to the head. It sat above the parietal and included the frontal bones about midway on the skull. The bone preservation of this piece is awesome and many of the suture lines are very visible. The underside of the bone was not prepped free of the rock it was found in.

We have included an acrylic stand for optimal display.

An artist's reconstruction of Platecarpus. By Dmitry Bogdanov Creative Commons License

Platecarpus is an extinct aquatic lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. Fossils have been found in the United States as well as possible specimens in Belgium and Africa. It reached lengths of up to 14 feet long: half of that length was its tail alone. Platecarpus probably fed on fish, squid, and ammonites. Like other mosasaurs, it was initially thought to have swum in an eel-like fashion, though a recent study suggests that it swam more like modern sharks.

The Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk formation is a Cretaceous conservation Lagerstätte, or fossil-rich geological formation, known primarily for its exceptionally well-preserved marine reptiles. It outcrops in parts of northwest Kansas--its most famous localities for fossils--and in southeastern Nebraska. Large, well-known fossils excavated from the Smoky Hill Chalk include marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, large bony fish such as Xiphactinus, mosasaurs, pterosaurs, and turtles.

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