Halisaurus sp. skull

The skull of a Chalisaurus, a medium-sized marine reptile that belongs to the Mosasaurs family. Chalisaurus reached 3 to 4 meters in length and had a graceful structure of the body.

When examined from the top, the skull of Chalisaurus resembles a triangular prism tapering from the skull box to the tip of the nose. The bones of the skull are fused into one solid structure ensuring its strength. The nostrils are large, paired, and shifted to the eye sockets. The eye sockets themselves occupy a significant space in the skull; the sclerotic rings serve to protect the eyes from pressure fluctuations when diving to depth. The parietal bone has a circular opening, where there used to be the "third eye", a light-sensitive organ covered by a thin skin.

The jaws were narrow, with long, thin, bent-back teeth. The two halves of the lower jaw have no bony joint; instead, there was cartilage in its place, giving the jaw a snake-like appearance. Such a "split" jaw together with a distinctive structure of the jaw joint, which enabed the mouth to be open wide, made it possible to swallow very large fish.

This is an excellent collector's specimen, which can serve as a decoration for the house interior or a personal museum.