Marine Reptile Fossil – Tethysaurus nopcsai | Rare Specimen Morocco Devonian Embedded in fine-grained limestone

Embedded in fine-grained limestone

frozen in resin and transformed into stone over millions of years

approximately 92 million years ago

4 × 17 cm

This massive cervical bone — the first vertebra of the neck — once supported the enormous skull and tusks of one of Earth’s most iconic Ice Age giants

Marine Reptile Fossil – Tethysaurus nopcsai | Rare Specimen Morocco Devonian Embedded in fine-grained limestoneLate Cretaceous, Turonian Stage (~92 million years ago) Goulmima, Morocco This remarkable Tethysaurus nopcsai fossil comes from the Late Cretaceous seas of Goulmima, Morocco, an area once covered by the ancient Tethys Ocean. Dating to the Turonian stage, about 92 million years ago, it represents an important transitional genus between early aquatic lizards and the later, larger mosasaurs that would dominate prehistoric waters. With its streamlined