2.20 in. Plesiosaur Zarafasaura Fossil Tooth - Morocco

This specimen comes from the phosphate mines located near Khourigba, Morocco and is dated to the Upper Cretaceous Period (70.6-66 Million Years Old)

The Zarafasaura is an extinct type of elsamosaurid found in central Morocco and first described by scientists in 2011. Belonging to the larger group of Plesiosaurs, this long necked marine reptile swiftly maneuvered the seas and fed on primitive fish and other small prey with it's long and sharp teeth.

The name Zarafasaura oceanis comes from several meanings, "Zarafa" for the term the local miners gave the fossils when they are found - meaning "giraffe", "saurus" which is Greek for "lizard", and "oceanis" is Latin for "daughter of the sea" - so here we present to you the "Giraffe Lizard Daughter of the Sea"!

In extraction from the soft phosphate rich sand, it's common for these brittle teeth to break along micro fractures. It's very rare to find any Plesiosaur teeth from these mines which have not been repaired or glued back together. Many of these specimens will have been restored from all original pieces, no filler or modifications to the original fossil.