During the time between the original Platecarpus exhibit mount in the 90’s, to the exhibit designed for the ND Heritage Center & State Museum expansion of 2013, a mosasaur mystery had been solved. What was thought to be an artifact of preservation was actually a feature – a kink on the end of the tail of many mosasaur fossils discovered. Rather than a slithering swim-style, these animals had a fluke on the top of their tail and a more rigid mode of swimming, similar to sharks.

The Platecarpus needed to be overhauled! The fossil portions re-cleaned, the cast portions re-sculpted to better align with the new science.