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EXTREMELY RARE SPINOSAURUS CERVICAL VERTEBRA WITH UNFUSED DORSAL PROCESS REGION Tegana Formation - Northern Sahara Desert, Morocco LATE CRETACEOUS PERIOD: 96 - 66 million years ago This is an EXTREMELY RARE Spinosaurus cervical vertebra lacking its dorsal process and region due to the dinosaur being a juvenile. Like most vertebrates, juvenile dinosaurs had a skeletal structure that went through a maturing phase of the bones fusing with their articulating surfaces. Compare this specimen to DB5-002 which still has some openness to the bone sutures but the dorsal region was fused and this portion of the vertebra remained intact. This specimen shown above does not have a top broken off but it is missing because the upper portion had not yet fused to the centrum portion due to the younger age of the Spinosaurus it came from. The color, completeness and degree of preservation are nothing short of spectacular. The vibrant red-orange tone is natural and resulted from the color of sand the bone was fossilized in. We acquired this specimen in the same state as when it came from the ground. It was covered in a brick red sand that is found occasionally in the fossil-bearing layers of the formation. A small portion of the lip of the centrum was missing but the vertebra is otherwise complete and in remarkable condition with the most beautiful natural color. The vertebra was found INTACT and there is NO REPAIR and only about 3-5% of missing bone reconstructed.
Despite the abundance of
dinosaur teeth from the Sahara on the market, almost never do you see a
genuine vertebra for sale. Vertebra from dinosaurs from the U.S.A.
are definitely more plentiful and available for reasonable prices due to
their lack of rarity in comparison to dinosaur vertebra from the Sahara.
This is one of a few very rare and high grade dinosaur vertebra we
recently acquired from an old European collection. We received
them in an unprepared state and spent considerable time preparing them
to reveal their superb condition. Dinosaur remains like this from
North Africa are RARELY found in this state. Adding to the rarity
of this example, new restrictive laws in Morocco now forbidding the
export of natural fossils as this specimen will only mean that an
opportunity to acquire such a rare vertebra from a Saharan dinosaur will
be few and far between in the future. Such conditions make this
dinosaur fossil a perfect candidate for a promising investment
considering this, as well as its supreme condition.
Spinosaurus is estimated to have been THE LARGEST of all meat-eating dinosaurs that ever lived. With a length of 52.5 to 59 feet long, 20 feet high and 9 - 10 tons in weight, it was truly a behemoth! Its most unusual feature was a row of broad club-shaped spines 6 feet tall, projecting upward from the backbone. It's believed that these spines were covered with a sail of skin which could be raised by the creature as a social display or as a way to regulate body temperature. To this day, no other dinosaur has been found with such tall and broad-shaped neural spines. Fossil remains of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus are only found in the North African Sahara Desert. Contrary to the inhospitable desert environment where Spinosaurus fossils are found today, this region was a vast swampy tropical paradise abundant with life during the Cretaceous Period, 95-93 million years ago, when Spinosaurus was alive and inhabiting its muddy river shores and bogs. EXTREMELY RARE COLOR, QUALITY AND COMPLETENESS - 100% NATURAL AND AUTHENTIC WITH ZERO RESTORATION 5.25" wide x 5" long $1495 DB5-001 Actual Item - One Only |
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1495 |
The
remains of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus were first
discovered by a German collector in 1912 in central Egypt. A variety
of pieces were recovered including a skull and teeth. On the evening
of April 24, 1944, a British bombing run on Munich destroyed these and
many other rare fossil specimens.