12.4" Fossil Mosasaur Vertebra String with Ribs - Asfla, Morocco

Fossil Mosasaur Vertebra String with Ribs - Asfla, Morocco #255521

This is a cool piece from the Upper Cretaceous-aged (Early Turonian Stage) deposits near Asfla, Morocco. It is a string of naturally associated vertebrae and ribs of a small Mosasaur (Tethysaurus nopcsai). The plate measures 12.4 x 4.8", with the vertebrae each measuring about 2.1" tall including the spinous process.

It comes with an acrylic display stand.

There is some touch-up restoration and crack repair through various points of the rock and through some of the bones.

Tethysaurus was a small-to-medium-sized mosasaur that lived during the Early Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 93 million years ago. It grew to around 10 feet (3 meters) in length and seemed to be a transitional species between some of the more primitive mosasaurs and later mosasaur groups. Its fossils have been found near the villages of Asfla and Tadirhourst in east-central Morocco.

Tethysaurus was named after Tethys,‭ ‬the ancient Greek goddess of the sea. The ancient Tethys Ocean, which once separated Laurasia‭ (‬the northern continents‭) ‬from Gondwana‭ (‬the southern continents‭), is also named for this Greek goddess.