Mosasaurs

Seas and Shores of the Big Bend of Texas

From Mosasaurs to Dinosaurs

Ken Barnes

Founder & Curator

.Mosasaur

Ranch

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AUTHORS NOTE: Do not cite or quote from this web page. This is an early POSTER REPORT of a future manuscript.

This first batch of photos is about the stomach contents of a Tylosaurus nepaeolicus Mosasaur, that was about 6 meters long that ate three small Platecarpus planifrons Mosasaurs, and a Ptychodus shark. There are about 270 fossils. The last photo in this batch is the stomach contents of a five meter long Platecarpus planifrons that ate a bony fish.

More batches below click to enlarge

KB - M - 3 dig site

Stratigraphic column for some mosasaurs found

Slabs of rock containing fossil stomach contents, close- ups below.

Platecarpus planifrons stomach contents

# KB - TD - M - 19 was complete and articulated, 18.5 feet long, but totally eaten up with gypsum, what a shame.

These photos serve as a photo library of some of my significant fossils

This column of photos will cover some of my Tylosaur Mosasaurs, there will be several more batches below.

This is an area where we found several Mosasaurs, sharks and bony fish etc.

KB - M -16, a complete skull of a Tylosaurus nepaeolicus, different views below.

Close-ups below

These two photos are of teeth that were in the roof of the rear of their mouth

Below are photos of, # KB - M - 11, a Platecarpus planifrons mosasaur.

Originally this Mosasaur was named Clidastes planifrons, (Cope, 1875 ), plates XXII and XXIII. Later Williston ( 1898 ) correctly called it Platecarpus planifrons.

# KB - M - 11 dig site

These fossils are in or on the original rock slab only here they are upside down. Almost all Mosasaur skulls are found bottom side up.

Below are some of the fossils that were found separated from the slab

Below are fossils of # KB - BB - M - 13. These were found by Bill Bourbon at the base of a slope and we looked but found no more parts

# KB - BB - M - 5 was a small, 1.5 meter long, Platecarpus planifrons found by Bill Bourbon mostly on the surface but some skull parts were in the ground so I saturated that area with a preservative until I could return and plaster jacket it later. When I returned a week or so later a coyote had dug the preserved area up and destroyed the whole thing so all I could do was gather all the loose parts, mostly vertebra etc. This quadrate is the only skull part I could salvage and it is in poor shape.

#KB-TD-M-19 is a Platecarpus planifrons that was 18.5 feet long and totally articulated but eaten up with gypsum. We removed the skull in hopes the underside was in better shape but it was only a little better.

Tommy Diamond at KB-TD-M-19, which he found

Students working on the dig

The skull is in bad shape, gypsum%^&# and near the surface

Removing the skull jacket

The bottom side is not much better

Mike Everhart described a new species of Tylosaurus from Kansas in Oct. 2005, naming it Tylosaurus kansasensis. See Oceans of Kansas web-site. http://oceansofkansas.com/tylo-new.html

I had a tylosaur in my collection that was a little different from T. nepaeolicus and when he described this new species we discovered that was what it was. KB-BB-M-14 is my specimen below.

Skull parts from 1st and 2nd jacket

Scapula from 2nd jacket

Students working on the 3rd jacket, earlier some idiot found this dig and destroyed most of the fossils off the top of the pedestal.

KB-M-15 is a very large Tylosaurus nepaeolicus,

the skull is 1300mm long. It is in its own limestone concretion and will take a long time to prepare out. It died trying to swallow a Toxochelys turtle, which is still in the ground.