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EXTREMELY RARE WHITE SPINOSAURUS CERVICAL VERTEBRA OF EXCEPTIONAL PRESERVATION AND COMPLETENESS Tegana Formation - Northern Sahara Desert, Morocco LATE CRETACEOUS PERIOD: 96 - 66 million years ago This is an EXTREMELY RARE Spinosaurus cervical vertebra. The color, completeness and degree of preservation are nothing short of spectacular. The vertebra was found covered in a protective coating of iron-rich calcified sandstone. We completely removed and cleaned the entire specimen with air tools and micro-abrasives to reveal a most incredible state of preservation. Unlike many dinosaur bone from this region that fossilizes in dark earth-tones, the unique sediment chemistry and fact that it was covered in sandstone kept the color in a rare white and preserved every minute anatomical detail. There is absolutely NO RESTORATION OR FABRICATION anywhere on this incredibly rare specimen. Many cracks are fissures that occurred millions of years ago and are filled with calcite. Transverse processes are virtually complete and all foramina are cleaned and immaculately preserved.
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 countless hours preparing them to reveal their superb condition.
This specimen was the finest of the group. 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 9" across x 7.25" high SOLD DB5-002 Actual Item - One Only |
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2695 |
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.