1.4" Mosasaur (Halisaurus) Jaw Section with Tooth - Morocco

Mosasaur (Halisaurus) Jaw Section with Tooth - Morocco #71770

This is a small 1.4" wide Mosasaur jaw section with tooth, Late Cretaceous is age and collected from phosphate deposits in the Oulad Abdoun Basin of Morocco. It's still partially embedded in the rock it was found in, but work has been done to expose it and bring it out in nice relief against the rock. It is likely form Halisaurus given it's small size and the curve in the tooth.

Artists reconstruction of a Halisaurus. By Nobu Tamura

Halisaurus is a comparatively small Mosasaur, maxing out at around 10 feet in length. It was a sleek and likely quick member of the family. Besides its small size, it had distinctive backward-curving teeth likely used for grasping slippery prey like fish. A paper describing this species can be found below.

Description of new specimens of Halisaurus arambourgi BARDET & PEREDA SOBERBIOLA, 2005 and the relationships of halisaurinae

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.

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