Moroccan mosasaur

[DSMJake]

Here’s a mosasaur being offered. Any red flags or areas of concern? Thanks!

[Praefectus]

It is a halisaurine skull and partial skeleton. I'm thinking Halisaurus arambourgi, but Pluridens serpentis might be a potential identity. I am somewhat worried about the shape of the matrix and the positioning of the vertebrae and skull. It looks like there may have been some compositing and restoration. I am particularly suspicious about the cleaned out matrix under the internarinal bar, at the back of the skull, and the arrangement of the vertebrae on the side opposite the skull. 

[BrennanThePaleoDude]

I also think it looks suspicious. There could be some restoration work done which @Praefectus beat me to pointing out  

[Phos_01]

I think it looks good. Looks like real parts in there, but like Praefectus already has pointed out be careful. Surely allot of other experts here can tell you more.

 

Im curious, will you keep it like that? Or what will you do with it?

[DSMJake]

Thank you all for your insight. I thought all the pieces look authentic, but the arrangement is a little odd. Unfortunately the seller doesn’t have any pre-prep pictures. If I acquired it, I might have it cleaned up a bit, but leave the presentation as-is… unless it’s an obvious composite. Then I might go a different route with the skull. 

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

Trevor basically said it all. If we could get a close-up picture of the teeth, this might be sufficient to determine whether we're dealing within H. arambourgi or P. serpentis, though seeing the size and spread/distribution of the teeth, my guess would be on H. arambourgi. He's further correct in that the skull is likely reconstructed from separate pieces of bone, as the bones of these halisaurus is so frail that they're rarely, if ever, discovered without any crushing. The internarial bar, in particular, is almost always fabricated in these specimens. The neat positioning of the mandibles next to the skull and placement of the row of vertebrae further gives food for thought as to the overall blocks composition, although it seems the string of vertebrae runs all the way up to the skull. The quality of the vertebrae, however, greatly deteriorates the closer to the skull you get and attachment of the vertebral column is unclear. Also, as far as I'm aware, this curved body posture is not one in which mosasaurs are typically found.

 

Overall I don't think this is necessarily a bad display piece for showing certain anatomical details. Just realise that it's repaired, with some reconstruction, and more than likely a composite...

Edited November 5, 2021 by pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon