Surprising Discovery: French Customs Seize Rare Dinosaur Teeth During Inspection

A Spanish lorry being inspected on January 28 led to the unexpected seizure of nine dinosaur teeth, including those from a Mosasaurus, an ancient predator of the seas.

In a remarkable discovery, French customs officers operating along the A8 motorway near the Italian border seized nine dinosaur teeth during a routine vehicle inspection on January 28. The officers were conducting random checks on lorries, a practice aimed at combating illegal drug transport, when they stumbled upon these unique artifacts concealed within two parcels.

The parcels were forwarded to a prehistory museum in Menton for further examination, where experts determined the teeth originated from reptiles dating back to the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 72 to 66 million years ago in what is now Morocco.

Among the notable discoveries was a tooth belonging to a Zarafasaura oceanis, a marine reptile measuring around 3 meters (10 feet) that was first identified in Morocco in 2011. Furthermore, three of the teeth were identified as belonging to the Mosasaurus, a formidable aquatic predator that could grow up to 12 meters in length. The remainder of the teeth are believed to belong to a Dyrosaurus phosphaticus, a creature that shares common ancestry with modern-day crocodiles.

The driver of the lorry informed the officers that he was en route to deliver the parcels to recipients in the Italian cities of Genoa and Milan. French authorities are now focused on identifying the intended recipients while reminding the public that while fossil collection is permissible, exporting them often necessitates the appropriate licenses.