#tethysaurus

[mesozoicmarket]

A mosasaur jaw of a Tethysaurus nopcsai from the Akrabou Formation in Asfla, Goulmima, Errachidia, Morocco. While most Moroccan mosasaurs are from Maastrichtian deposits, Tethysaurus is a lesser known genus from the much older Turonian age.

[tff-praefectus]

Tethysaurus nopscai

[252mya]

Tethysaurus nopcsai

Artwork by Julio Lacerda / @paleoart

The “lizard of Tethys” inhabited Tethys sea that lied between the ancient continents of Gondwana and Laurasia during the Cretaceous Period. Unlike its better known giant relative Mosasaurus, it only reached around 3 meters (10 feet) in average.

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[paleoart]

Thethysaurs were perhaps the ancestors of mosasaurs that lived in the Early Cretaceous period, and looked very much like aquatic monitor lizards. The details of their anatomy are still controversial since not many fossils are known, but they lived in shallow waters and were possibly completely aquatic. You can buy this image as prints and posters at 252mya.com

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[tff-praefectus]

Tethysaurus jaw

[tff-praefectus]

Tethysaurus jaws