Zarafasaura (elasmosaurid plesiosaur), new specimen

[Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com>]

From: Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com


A recent paper not yet mentioned on the DML:

Dean R. Lomax and William R. Wahl   (2013)
A new specimen of the elasmosaurid plesiosaur Zarafasaura oceanis from
the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Morocco.
Paludicola 9(2): 97-109
http://vortex.weather.brockport.edu/~jmassare/rivp/contents.htm

pdf:
http://www.academia.edu/3509227/A_NEW_SPECIMEN_OF_THE_ELASMOSAURID_PLESIOSAUR_ZARAFASAURA_OCEANIS_FROM_THE_UPPER_CRETACEOUS_MAASTRICHTIAN_OF_MOROCCO

A new specimen of the Moroccan elasmosaurid plesiosaur Zarafasaura
oceanis from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) phosphate deposits
of Morocco is described. A partial skeleton with an associated skull
is mounted ondisplay at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, USA. The short
preorbital region of the skullandcontact of the squamosal with the
parietals, jugal and postorbital, allow for identification to the
genus. However, large amounts of  the skull and mounted skeleton are
reconstructed so description is difficult in all but a cursory way. In
recent years,the popularity of Moroccan material among collectors and
the general public has increased the numberof display specimens in
museums across the world. As plesiosaurs remain very scarce in these
rich marine vertebrate strata, any information expanding our
understanding of the osteology of a known species warrants study. The
new specimen of  Zarafasaura provides information on postcranial
elements which were previously unknown, along with additional
information regarding a fairly complete skull that preserves elements
that are missing in the holotype specimen.