Name: Plesiosaurus mauritanicus
Age: Upper Cretaceous Maastrichtian Stage
Size: (25.4mm=1 inch): 52 mm long (along curve), 11 mm wide at base. Matrix: 120 mm by 60 mm
Location: Khouribga Plateau, Morocco
Code: PLT01
Price: $55.00 - sold
 Description:
This is a fine example of a tooth from the seagoing reptile Plesiosaurus
mauritanicus coming from the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) phosphate
bed deposits near Khouribga, Morocco. These seagoing creatures have
been described as a snake strung through the shell of a turtle, and
became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous. Many fossils from the
region are an outgrowth of the phosphate mining industry. One of the
suppliers of this material described for me the mad scramble that
ensues when a section of wall is dynamited. The locals move in swiftly,
collecting the fossils exposed before the earth moving equipment arrives.
Pieces such as this are the result of those efforts.. |
