Marine reptile
Zarafasaura oceanis
Elasmosaur
Zarafasaura oceanis is the long-necked elasmosaurid plesiosaur of the Moroccan phosphates, named in 2011. Its slender, deeply striated teeth and its distinctive vertebrae with paired ventral foramina are sold from Khouribga as 'plesiosaur' or 'Zarafasaura'; the teeth are more curved and finely ridged than mosasaur teeth.
| Phylum | Chordata |
|---|---|
| Class | Reptilia |
| Order | Plesiosauria |
| Family | Elasmosauridae |
| Group | Marine reptile |
| Rank (PBDB) | genus· Paleobiology Database |
| Author | Vincent et al. 2011· Paleobiology Database |
| Classification (PBDB) | Chordata › Reptilia › Plesiosauria › Elasmosauridae· Paleobiology Database |
| Range (PBDB) | 72.2–66 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| PBDB occurrences | 1· Paleobiology Database |
Elsewhere
- GBIF: 8456476
- PBDB: 199250
- Wikidata: Q1999176
- PBDB taxon page
- Wikipedia: Zarafasaura oceanis
- PBDB search: Zarafasaura
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Zarafasaura oceanis" (Taxon). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/taxa/zarafasaura-oceanis. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-zarafasaura-oceanis,
title = {Zarafasaura oceanis},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/taxa/zarafasaura-oceanis}},
year = {2026},
note = {Taxon article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, pbdb, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.