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Maastricht Natural History Museum Mosasaur central This charming little museum in a historic city is absolutely worth a visit if you have any interest in the latest Cretaceous and Mosasaurs. The city of Maastricht was founded by the ancient Romans along the Meuse (Mosa in Latin, Maas in Dutch) river. The animals we know as Mosasaurs are named after this river. The great lizard of the Meuse. Near the city are deposits of the latest Cretaceous, the Maastrichtian, which is named after the city. There are several quarries that produce a lot of fossils. In the same procince to the north of Maastricht there is another fossil location that lends it's name to a geologic age. The tiglien, which is during the lower Pleistocene, named after Tegelen. Part of the old roman city wall nearby. This museum also used to house the holotype of the original Mosasaur. Mosasaurus hoffmanni. Sadly it was taken as the spoils of war by Napoleon's army. Today the holotype is located in the Paris Museum of Natural History. So now there is only a cast of the holotype in the museum. This small glass enclosed area in the garden houses the holotype of Prognathodon saturator which is nicknamed Bér. The specimen consists of an mostly complete skull and a partial skeleton and was found near Maastricht. There are a number of articulated thoracic vertebrae, some limb elements and some other loose elements. Along with the mosasaur skeleton there were a lot of shark teeth (Squalicorax and others) found associated with it that suggests that the carcass was scavenged by sharks and other opportunists before being covered. I suggest viewing this on a cloudy day because the reflections on the glass can sometimes make it hard to see as well. Though the main attractions are the Cretaceous and Pleistocene fossils. There are also a few other cool things. An early relative of the Horseshoe Crab. A primitive spider.