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Mosasaur bone ID


Aurelius

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Hello! I recently obtained this Moroccan mosasaur jaw, which has a bone lodged up against it which I can't identify. I'm not very good with mosasaurs (yet). 


The bone is up at the top-left in these images. I had wondered if it was a partial vert, but I don't have the experience with Prognathodon just yet. I think there are some possibly skull elements in the block.

 

Thanks!

 

 

20170105_185408.jpg

20170105_185434.jpg

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I agree with jcp. It looks like skull parts. The jaw looks a bit odd as well. Doesn't look like front of the jaw at any rate. Maybe back of the maxilla or pterygoid?

 

I would suggest cleaning it a little by scraping off some of the sediment with a dental pick. be careful though, Moroccan mosasaur material like this is very soft.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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Thank you both for the tips!

Olof, you were kind enough to offer me some tips regarding another mosasaur jaw I purchased recently (in the 'identifying fakes' section), and your advice is much appreciated :)

Here's a picture of the whole thing. I'll give the matrix a little scrape with some dental picks and see what I can find.

 

 

20170105_120643.jpg

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Ah that's a much better photo. Much better lighting. The shape is more visible now. Yeah I think you might have a partial Proganthodon pterygoid (right side?).

 

Very nice.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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That's a great specimen

 

"Without fossils, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the earth" - Georges Cuvier

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