Description

Gorgeous Mosasaur tooth presented in a 3 1/4 by 4 1/4 inch Riker mount.  This specimen was discovered in Morocco.

You will receive this specimen, or one just like it.

Mosasaurs are a family of enormous marine reptiles that dominated the seas 90 million years ago. They ruled during the last 20-25 million years of the Cretaceous period. With the extinction of ichthyosaurs and the decline of plesiosaurs, mosasaurs diversified to become prolific apex predators in nearly every habitat of the oceanic world.

Mosasaurs had a body shape similar to that of modern-day monitor lizards, but were more elongated and streamlined for swimming. Their limb bones were reduced in length and their paddles were formed by webbing between their long finger and toe bones. Their tails were broad, and supplied their locomotive power. Until recently, mosasaurs were assumed to have swum in a method similar to the one used today by eels and sea snakes, undulating their entire bodies from side to side. However, new evidence suggests that many advanced mosasaurs had large, crescent-shaped flukes on the ends of their tails, similar to those of sharks. Rather than use snake-like undulations, their bodies probably remained stiff in order to reduce drag through the water, while their tails provided strong propulsion. These animals may have lurked and pounced rapidly and powerfully on passing prey, rather than chasing after it.