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Catalogue entry
The Specimen
Hainosaurus boubker Mosasaur Tooth Fossil – 2.8 in (7 cm)
Selected for its strong natural-history presence, this specimen is listed with photographs tied to reference AD-15892.
- Category: Mosasaur Tooth Fossil
- Scientific identification: Hainosaurus boubker
- Recorded size: 2.8 in / 7 cm
- Geological age: Late Cretaceous (~66 Million Years)
- Origin: Sidi Chennane Basin, Morocco
- Reference: AD-15892
Mosasaurs were large marine reptiles—not dinosaurs—that occupied Late Cretaceous seas. Morocco’s phosphate basins preserve an important record of these ocean predators.
This sold specimen remains published as a reference archive. Explore the related collection for currently available fossils.
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Where it comes from
Moroccan Origin
Morocco’s phosphate basins, above all the Oulad Abdoun Basin near Khouribga and the Ganntour Basin near Benguerir, preserve one of the richest marine vertebrate fossil records on Earth.
At the end of the Cretaceous, a shallow sea covered this part of Morocco. Its nutrient-rich waters supported mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, sharks and bony fish, whose bones and teeth were preserved in the accumulating phosphate sediments.
Reported locality for this specimen: Sidi Chennane Basin, Morocco.
III
From the rock
Discovery
Moroccan phosphates are worked in successive layers. As the rock is exposed, fossil bones and teeth appear within the phosphate beds and are recovered before the material is processed.
Large skulls, jaws and skeletons are rare finds within this enormous volume of rock, and must be lifted carefully, often together with their surrounding matrix.
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Deep time
Geological Context
The Maastrichtian phosphate beds formed in the final stage of the Cretaceous, shortly before the extinction event about 66 million years ago. Younger phosphate layers continue into the Paleocene and Eocene.
- Estimated age
- Late Cretaceous (~66 Million Years)
- Locality
- Sidi Chennane Basin, Morocco
- Deposit
- Moroccan phosphates
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The workshop
Preparation
Fossils are freed from their surrounding rock with fine air-powered tools, abrasives, brushes and consolidants. Depending on size and fragility, preparation can take from a few hours to several months.
The preparation, association, repair and restoration information supplied for this specimen is listed below, exactly as recorded in its catalogue entry.
No specific preparation details have been recorded for this specimen. Please request information if this is important to your collection.
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On display
Presentation
Presented as a natural-history specimen, this fossil is suited to a private collection, a gallery, a library or a carefully designed interior.
For display, choose a stable surface away from strong direct sunlight and humidity. Our care guide explains how to clean, handle and present a fossil.
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For the collector
Collector Information
The Oulad Abdoun BasinMosasaur vs DinosaurFAQAll Fossil Guides
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