1.19" Fossil Mosasaur (Prognathodon) Tooth - Morocco

This is a 1.19" fossil mosasaur (Prognathodon sp.) tooth from the Upper Cretaceous phosphate deposits in the Oulad Abdoun Basin of Morocco.

The tip and enamel are worn away in places.

It comes from the massive phosphate deposits in the Qulad Abdoun Basin near Khouribga, Morocco. These deposits are mined for phosphate, one of Morocco's biggest exports. The fossils are collected as a byproduct of the mining operations, saving them from certain destruction by the rock crusher.

Mosasaurs are a family of enormous marine reptiles that truly dominated the seas 90 million years ago. They ruled during the last 20-25 million years of the Cretaceous period. With the extinction of the ichthyosaurs and decline of plesiosaurs, mosasaurs diversified to become prolific apex predators in nearly every habitat of the oceanic world.