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Welll....I got a lovely gift box in the mail from a friend who knew I liked fossils. I WAS SO NOT EXPECTING THIS IN THE MAIL! Imagine my excitement on finding a Green River fish, a nice big Megaladon and....pretty sure this is a Mosasaur tooth from Morocco? That's my best guess anyways. It kind of looks "staged" with the vert, but I don't care, it's really cool. So am I right in my attempt at ID as mosasaur? Since I haven't FOUND ONE YET I don't have any to compare! (And yes, I have been 'visuallizing" a mosasaur tooth and vert something fierce and the universe decided to play a trick on me and gave me one....but not one I FOUND. hahahhahahah).

Hi everyone! Fairly new to all this . I have seen a few pieces of Jaw and Teeth that I would like but after reading some interesting discussion on this forum, I do doubt the authenticity. I understand that elements of the fossils may be real and there will always be an element of repair work with these fossils but are the bellow real? I have added 3 examples (multiple photos). Hopefully you will be able to help and I appreciate and advice in advance !! thanks Steve

The first week in April seemed like the perfect time to make a trip to the North Sulphur River (NSR). On the day the river was fairly high and mud was a big problem in spots. Fortunately, I was wearing a pair of hip waders; otherwise, the day was nice but largely cloudy. After about an hour of walking and finding nothing, looking down, I saw what looked to be a black circle under the water as I approached a gravel bar. The water was murky and the river bottom, about 5 inches below, was covered in about an inch of fine mud. I bent down and tried to “dust off” the area. Immediately, I could see that there was a mosasaur skeleton, with a good number of unarticulated vertebrae, ribs, and assorted fragmented bones. The black bones showed well against the light grey marl before the silt resettled or the muddy river bottom got churned. My first instinct was to call Mike Polcyn at SMU, however there was no cell service at the spot. I considered leaving and returning when more prepared, but the skeleton was right next to a major walkway for anyone winding down the river. There were already footprints nearby. I knew that if the water dropped just a couple inches the fossil may be completely exposed. Rain was also scheduled for the next 3 or 4 days. I made the decision to excavate what I could, hoping to cause the least amount of damage to the skeleton. As I have never had to use any type of tools in the NSR before, all I had was an old rusted wood chisel. No hammer, so I used a nicely sized rock. You couldn’t really excavate directly at each bone piece or they would fracture. Fortunately, the shale was layered, so that I could go in from the sides and hope that the bone would just pop out. I had to stop frequently to let the water clear as it would get churned up, with zero visibility. At times I had to feel my way around for shale edges. It was getting dark after about 5 ½ hours of digging so I determined to head back to the car. As it was fairly difficult getting to the spot in the first place, it was a lot harder getting back loaded down with 60 pounds of rocks. Adding that much weight when going through fairly deep mud is not ideal, and as many know, the shale river bottom can get as slick as ice. After a number of rest stops I made it back to the car. I got the bones home, washed them in water, and used a metal bristled brush. I was glad to see that almost all the vertebrae were fully intact, although I am sure that I must have lost a few process stems in the removal. I then gave the bones a soak in vinegar and again scrubbed with the brush. About a week later I revisited the spot, this time wearing ice cleats on my waders for traction. The spot had been untouched and I attempted to remove the remaining ribs and bone fragments. I saw no indication that there were any more mosasaur bits, as there didn’t appear to be bones any deeper or in a wider area. Unfortunately, it was sunny and over 90 degrees that day, so after another 5 hours, this time with a geologist hammer, I was again really dragging getting back to the car. I hadn’t gotten into Texas “heat shape” yet this year. After cleaning I could see that some of the vertebrae had been crushed and that a lot of damage had been pre-burial and not in removal. Given the unarticulated nature of the fossil it would appear that there was a good deal of predation before burial. I ended up with 24 vertebrae (cervical and thoracic), a good number of associated ribs, a broken quadrate, the parietal, a portion of the pterygoid, and the braincase. Generally, I retrieved from the back portion of the mosasaur’s skull to right before the rear paddle, with no paddles, jaws, teeth, or caudal vertebrae. I am guessing that it is possibly a platycarpus. The challenge now is getting the rest of the matrix off and assembling the vertebrae in correct order. I have emailed Polcyn for his input, but any suggestions would be appreciated. Using a Dremel tool with a wire brush worked on small spots, but not so well on large patches of matrix. I will make a final trip to the spot when the weather allows and when the water drops a bit more. Happy to provide more photos if needed.

Hello everybody, i received this mosasaur jaw (a dentary) from morocco, i don’t have any information on. The teeth are missing but i count 14 alveoli. According to the mosasaur thread of Jnoun 11, i think it’s maybe Mosasaurus beaugei or hoffmanni but i’m not sure for the identification, someone can help me to put a specie on this enigmatic dentary ?

Here are some pictures from my latest trip to the NSR. Nothing special this trip but I was wondering what the last two pictures are of. Seems like a more recent fossil possible a tooth of a mammal?

Visited a friend this weekend who gave me some nice fossils. I know where the black teeth come from and I'm guessing that the lighter teeth are from Morocco. The circled tooth I'm unsure about, any ideas? Thanks

Hi, i saw this mosasaur jaw for sale. I think it may be real, although I'm not 100% sure. Says it's from Phosphate deposits of Khourigba, Morocco. I have seen other jaws that are obviously false, but with this one I have doubts. I had to darken and change the brightness of the images, as the originals were too bright. I would appreciate your comments please.

After 20 trips to Big Brook I have several hundred shark teeth (but can you really ever have enough?). I’ve got a fair number of belemnite and oysters. Enchodus, Ratfish, Sawfish, Cow-nosed rays and more. Lately I’ve been into finding modern bone and old bottles but I only have 2 Mosasaur teeth and I was determined to find more today. For the first time in a long while I returned to the spot where I found them. Diligently digging and panning for hours but the shark (and amphibious reptile gods) were against me and it was not to be. No MOs, no shark, no nothing! still a great day in the brook and with a new phone I was finally able to take some photos and share Big Brook with you

Recently bought this tooth along with a plesiosaur tooth,the plesiosaur tooth having a few repairs I’m curious as to what’s sticking out the top of this tooth wether it be a bit root or what not I don’t know Any help is appreciated:

I spent most of yesterday in a hospital waiting room and passed the time reading the forum. While I was already aware of some of the things they get up to in Morocco, I was shocked to see just how many Mosasaur related posts there are in this section of the forum. We have this piece in my daughter’s collection and I was wondering if it’s anything more than just a genuine crown stuck on something to look like a root. I have soaked it in cold water for around an hour and while it didn’t all crumble away to nothing, a couple of bits came off and touching it left a sticky residue on my fingers. I have seen people on here decide that the presence of other fish/bone material in the matrix is a good sign that it’s genuine but I have looked around and seen hundreds of mosasaur and plesiosaur teeth in these suspicious little Moroccan matrix blocks with a few random fish verts thrown in for effect.

Found in Green Mill Run creek on 8/21/2020. Unsure if it is whale tooth, some type tusk or Bone. My original assumption was Sperm Whale but some have thought maybe tusk??

Hello all, Recently my girlfriend and I went up to Ramanessin in New Jersey for a fossil hunt. After a while I came across this tooth! Upon trying to identify it I couldn't exactly figure out whether it was a crocodile (Thoracosaurus) or a mosasaur from the area. The tooth is more ovular in cross section. If more pictures are needed I can send them. Im leaning more towards Thoracosaurus. Thanks!

Hello, can someone take a look at these and let me know if they are ok? A pair of Mosasaur jaws I quite like. 1st is a Globidens -- from Phosphate Beds. 5.12 inches. Seller says that the tooth is glued, but was found with the jaw. 2nd is Prognathodon -- says it has been glued and has some small fractures filled. Also from Phosphate beds. Many thanks anyone who can help!

This is a Mosasaur Jaw for sale on an auction site, and these are the only photos provided. Does it look authentic?