Buy A Dino!

A perfectly preserved fossil of a 180-million-year-old crocodile is up for auction.

16:32 29 September 2015

A well-preserved 9ft-long saltwater crocodile that lived about 180 million years ago is up for auction.

 

The skeleton of a Streneosaurus, a Jurassic-age crocodile, was discovered in south-west Germany. Reports say that the fossil still has its rows of sharp teeth and belongs in a museum or a world-class private collection.

 

It will go under the hammer at Heritage Auctions in Dallas Texas on October 4 and is expected to fetch at least £165,000.

 

A spokesman for the auction house said: "Top quality fossils are referred to by using all kinds of superlatives such as collector-grade, museum-quality, and "one-of-a-kind."

 

"Then there are those paramount specimens that truly are singularly spectacular, such as this amazing fossil crocodile from the Jurassic shale of Holzmaden.

"A pristine example of Steneosaurus bollensis, this wonderful specimen is truly worthy of any museum or the finest of private collections.

 

"This remarkably-detailed fossilised skeleton of an extinct, saltwater crocodile is quite large and extremely well preserved.

 

"The way it is naturally displayed makes for a quite artistic presentation.

 

"The intricate details of the scales are easily visible on the armour plating which surrounds the vertebral column of the ancient crocodile.

 

"The skull is large and stands out, even against the rest of the curving body.

 

"The lengthy snout is very pronounced, containing numerous sharp, needle-like teeth.

 

"The horseshoe orientation of the fossil skeleton, with arms and legs sprouting out from the body, gives the appearance that the prehistoric aquatic beast is swimming in its ocean.

 

"The creature, measured as though it were stretched out straight, is approximately 9ft long.

 

"This is a complete original fossil - definitely a world-class fossil specimen from a renowned locality."