Scientists suspect that a newly discovered mosasaur fossil is a fake

In 2021, scientists identified a new species of mosasaurus when a Cretaceous jaw with unusual teeth was discovered in a Moroccan mine. There’s just one problem: the remains may be fake.

Researchers in Canada have raised doubts about the authenticity of the fossil used to identify and describe a new species of extinct marine reptile. Xenodens calmansariin 2021. Their analysis is detailed on December 16 He studies Published in Anatomical recordhighlights the contradictions within Previous research He calls for conducting new CT scans of the jaw to ensure its validity.

If their suspicions are proven correct, “it should be proven in the published literature that this is bogus,” said Henry Sharp of the University of Alberta, who led the latest study. Live sciences.

Our response to ‘Xenodens’ has now been published openly in the Anatomical Record: This bizarre ‘shark-toothed’ mosasaur is likely a fake and non-diagnostic (🧵) pic.twitter.com/9s1UWMYJaw

-Hank Sharp (@Paleoartologist) December 17, 2024

Mosasaurs They were large marine lizards and one of the largest ocean predators during the Cretaceous Period (145.5 million to 66 million years ago), with some individuals reaching lengths of up to 56 feet (17 m). Researchers in the 2021 study based their identification of the new mosasaur species in part on four sharp teeth found in an incomplete jawbone, dating between 72.1 and 66 million years ago, and discovered in a Moroccan phosphate mine.

The researchers, led by Nicholas R. “The new mosasaurid shows a dental battery (arrangement of teeth) with many small, short, blade-like teeth grouped together to form a saw-like cutting edge,” Longrich of the University of Bath wrote in a number of journals. Study 2021. They claimed it was the first such dental arrangement to be discovered in tetrapods (vertebrates with four limbs), and it was this hypothesis that prompted Sharpe and his colleagues to take a closer look.

Two alleged surviving teeth X. calminechari The jaw rests within a single tooth socket – a feature in contrast to most other known mosasaurs’ teeth and jaw arrangements, where each tooth grows into its own socket. Michael Caldwell of the University of Alberta, who also contributed to the new study, explained that mosasaur tooth sockets developed from individual tooth bones, rather than the jaw bone. This means that each tooth must have its own socket.

“Every time one of those teeth is reabsorbed and falls out, a big hole is left behind. That’s because the next tooth goes into that hole to build up all that tissue again so that it’s firmly attached to the jaw. In addition, the Sharp team suggests there’s a ‘potential adhesive.’ They argue that the special overlap of a type of tissue over two teeth is unusual and could indicate forgery, according to the study.

Besides the teeth themselves, the jaw was discovered in the Moroccan province of Khouribga under potentially suspicious circumstances, as the fossil was obtained unscientifically (without technical supervision) from an area in Morocco that produces many specimens that have been tampered with or forged, they wrote. In their article. the study.

The researchers ultimately suggest that the teeth and jaw may belong to two different creatures, although CT scans of the remains could dispel any doubts. It remains to be seen whether researchers will be able to apply this technique to… X. calminechari Fossil – or convince others to do so – in the near future. For now, be careful if you come across quotes from a new mosasaur with weird teeth!