Owner Comments:
Superb colorized Canada Tylosaurus Pembinensis glow-in-the-dark specimen quarter (issued as part of the Prehistoric Animals series) with no toning, prooflike luster on devices, and very strong strike. Surfaces are equivalent to a reverse proof with mirrored devices and frosty fields and mottoes. Vertical striation is present in fields on both sides producing a matte-like finish. Coin appears to be essentially flawless. Cost: $23.38 on 5/30/14 on eBay from Ehab Omar (ehab661).
Mintage: 30,000. Weight: 12.61 grams. Diameter: 35 mm. Composition: copper-nickel.
Edge: plain. Finish: specimen with color.
Complete Certificate Text:
Prehistoric Terror of the Sea: Tylosaurus pembinensis
Millions of years ago, a vast inland sea covered the centre of the North American continent, from the Arctic Circle to the Gulf of Mexico. This Western Interior Seaway teemed with strange and amazing beasts. The king of these wonders was the mosasaur Tylosaurus—a superpredator that was one of the most massive creatures ever to live in the sea. This creature, which is not a dinosaur, is closely related to snakes and Komodo dragons.
Distinguished by its long, knob-like snout (Tylosaurus means “knob lizard”), this killing machine was equipped with two sets of teeth–one set in its jaw and one on its palate—and a “double-jointed” jaw that gave it an extra-large bite. It would propel its 13-meter (43-foot) body through the water with the undulations of its crescent-shaped tail and four flippers. Its massive head and teeth allowed it to devour anything in its path: sharks, fish, other mosasaurs, sea birds, and maybe the squid-like ammonites.
The first specimens of Tylosaurus were discovered by American palaeontologists Edward D. Cope and Othniel C. Marsh in the 1860s and 1870s in Kansas. A century later, palaeontologists in Manitoba unearthed the fossil of a colossal Tylosaurus-like animal that had died 80 million years ago. This specimen was the largest ever found in Canada. While this creature closely resembled Tylosaurus, some slight physical differences hinted that its exact relationship to this animal would remain the subject of scholarly discussion for some time. Then in 1988, vertebrate palaeontologist Dr. Elizabeth Nicholls of Alberta’s Royal Tyrell Museum named the creature Hainosaurus pembinensis, now renamed Tylosaurus pembinensis, for the Manitoba rock formation in which it was discovered.
This Canadian Tylosaurus, who became known around the world as “Bruce,” was approximately 13 meters (43 feet) long. Excavators were able to uncover about 70% of its original bones, making for a relatively complete skeleton. Tylosaurus “Bruce” pembinensis now resides at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, Manitoba.