Shark, Plesiosaur

In this lot, a set of relatively large teeth from the species Otodus Obliquus (7.1–5.2 cm), Zarafasaura Oceanis (4.6 cm), and Prognathodon Currii (7.7 cm, complete specimen) is auctioned. Very good overall preservation, plesiosaur tooth repaired. All teeth have a natural enamel luster, very pleasant. They come from phosphate mines (main quarries at Oued Zem, Sidi Daoui and Sidi Chennane) in the Abdoun Ouled basin, Khouribga Province (Morocco). Oulad Abdoun is the largest fossil basin, and the northernmost of Morocco’s main phosphate basins. The phosphate deposits have preserved a large number of vertebrate fossils from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene. The fossils include a diversity of marine and terrestrial animals, such as mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, crocodiles, elasmobranchs and dinosaurs. Although they come from the same quarries, these species correspond to different geological times; Otodus Obliquus belongs to strata from the Paleogene period, mainly Paleocene–Eocene epochs, while Mosasaurus and Plesiosaurus are located in strata of the Late Cretaceous. Each mosasaur species has a characteristic type of teeth, easily recognizable; in the case of Prognathodon Currii, its teeth are usually round and ridged tips, massive and very robust (crushers) — unmistakable. Zarafasaura Oceanis, according to the Arabs: ocean giraffe reptile, is one of the last plesiosaur species that lived during the Cretaceous, and it is also an iconic species of Morocco’s phosphates. As for Otodus O., it is thought to have been a large shark, capable of exceeding 10 meters in length and up to 15 tons in weight. “The lot is accompanied by L-shaped acrylic display supports as a gift.”

Estimate:£29.51

View all items fromCatawikiorEthnographical