8.8" Plesiosaur (Zarafasaura) Vertebrae Association - Morocco

This is a large association of Plesiosaur (Zarafasaura oceanis) vertebrae. It was collected from the Upper Cretaceous phosphate deposits in the Oulad Abdoun Basin of Morocco.

Plesiosaurs where long-necked marine reptiles with four flippers that appeared in the Triassic and died out along with the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. They reached quite large sizes, some species attained lengths of 17 meters, and caught slow moving prey. Plesiosaurs breathed air, and bore live young; there are indications that they were warm-blooded.

This species of of Plesiosaur was redescribed from Plesiosaurus mauritanicus to Zarafasaura oceanis in a 2011 paper which can be found at:

A NEW SPECIMEN OF THE ELASMOSAURID PLESIOSAUR ZARAFASAURA OCEANIS FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS (MAASTRICHTIAN)OF MOROCCO