2.7" Mosasaur (Platecarpus) Caudal Vertebra - Kansas

This is a string of three fused vertebrae from Platecarpus, a type of Mosasaur. They were collected from the Smoky Hill Chalk in Gove County, Kansas. There is one repaired crack in one of the vertebra.



Platecarpus is an extinct aquatic lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. Fossils have been found in the United States as well as a possible specimen in Belgium and Africa. It reached lengths of up to 14 feet long, half of that length being it's tail. Platecarpus probably fed on fish, squid, and ammonites. Like other mosasaurs, it was initially thought to have swum in an eel-like fashion, although a recent study suggests that it swam more like modern sharks.

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