Mosasaur (Thalassotitan) Teeth and Bones in Situ - Morocco

This 19" wide section of sandstone from the Phosphate Deposits of Morocco contains disarticulated mosasaur bones and teeth, along with an assemblage of additional fossils. Three of the teeth are rooted and are either pterygoid teeth of Thalassotitan atrox or teeth of Pluridens serpentis, with the fourth tooth (largest) being from Thalassotitan atrox. The rock also contains four mosasaur vertebrae, an Otodus shark tooth, a Serratolamna shark tooth, and fish vertebrae.

The specimen is natural and none of the fossils have been mounted within the rock. One of the mosasaur teeth is missing the apical half its crown. The sandstone has been stabilized and the back has been cut flat and coated in a clear epoxy for structural integrity of the specimen.

It comes with a display stand.

Thalassotitan is one of the largest known mosasaurs, from the late Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era. Mosasaurs were aquatic carnivorous reptiles related to modern monitor lizards and snakes. The only known species of Thalassotitan is T. atrox, found mainly in present day Morocco. Adults of Thalassotitan could grow as large as 30 to 33 feet (9-10 meters) in length. Its skull could measure up to 4.3 ft (1.3 meters) in length! Heavy wear on its teeth and fossils found in the vicinity of the holotype etched by acid wear from partial digestion suggest that this mosasaur had a diet consisting of smaller mosasaur species, plesiosaurs, large predatory fish, and sea turtles.

It comes from the massive phosphate deposits in the Oulad Abdoun Basin near Khouribga, Morocco. These deposits are mined for phosphate, one of Morocco's biggest exports. The fossils are collected as a byproduct of the mining operations, saving them from certain destruction by the rock crusher.

SPECIES

Thalassotitan atrox & Pluridens serpentis?

AGE

Late Cretaceous (~70 Million Years)