Preparator Hans Peeters preparing the skull roof
Skull almost prepared free
During the past few weeks preparator Hans Peeters has progressed further
in preparing the skull . By now, not only the lower jaw, but also the
upper jaw, the eye socket and a large portion of the snout are visible.
At the rear end of the skull, a few neck (cervical) vertebrae have been
exposed; directly beneath are some isolated caudal (tail) vertebrae, that
had apparently been transported by currents. The flint nodules which seriously
hampered the preparatory work, have now for the most part been removed.
Some of the nodules could only be tackled by using a diamond-tipped sawblade
to remove bit by bit from around the fossil bones.
The nostrils of the new mosasaur are not easily reached
During preparation of the skull, more and more details of the skull appeared not to match our ‘common’ mosasaur species, Mosasaurus hoffmanni, so well known from the environs of Maastricht. Amongst other features, the stout lower jaw, the orientation of the jaw joint, the large lengthened nostrils and the ‘bulging’ eye sockets do not match those of Mosasaurus hoffmanni.
Prognathodon ?
Judging from the lower jaw, the new specimen displays some resemblance
to the mosasaur genus Prognathodon. Staff members of the museum are now
comparing the skull with Prognathodon skulls from Belgium and the United
States. This is a time-consuming business; at the moment, we are still
not in a position to say where this new specimen fits in the evolutionary
tree of mosasaurs.