Opalized Plesiosaur Tooth

Plesiosauridae indet. Tooth

Geologic Time: Early Cretaceous, Albian Stage

Size (25.4mm=1 inch): 18 mm long (outside curve) to 7 mm across

Fossil Site: Griman Creek Formation, Wallangulla Sandstone Coocoran Opal Field, Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia

Fossil Code: AAF571

Price: $125.00 - sold

Description: This specimen comes from Lightning Ridge in Australia, a region renowned for its opal production. Coober Pedy, Andamooka, White Cliffs, and Lightning Ridge are the 4 most famous sources of Australian opals. Indeed, Lightning Ridge is known as the black opal capital of the world. It is the alignment of the hydrated silica spheres which ultimately results in the rainbow effect of precious opal, the result of deflection and diffraction of light as it passes through the planes of hydrated silica molecules. The size of the spheres impacts the colors seen, with smaller spheres resulting in blues and larger spheres in reds. This is a near-complete tooth of a Plesiosaur. Plesiosaurs were one of the most successful marine reptile groups, and were once described as “a snake strung through the body of a turtle.” They were divided between the long-necked Elasomosaurs and the short-necked Pliosaurs. They arose in the uppermost Triassic, and appear to have descended from a group of aquatic reptiles called the Nothosaurs. It is thought that the Elasmosaurs were stealth predators, using their long neck to sneak up on prey before lashing out to trap the unwary. They most likely moved through the water using a combination of “flying” and rowing”. Several Plesiosaurs from Australia have been discovered preserved as precious opal, making them of both scientific and aesthetic interest. They had their greatest radiation during the Jurassic, and survived up until the end of the Cretaceous.

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