What happened to the Tethys Ocean?

The Tethys Ocean was gradually closed as the African and Indian tectonic plates collided with Eurasia over millions of years. The collision forced the ocean floor upward, forming the Alps and the Himalayas. The Mediterranean Sea is the last remnant of this ancient ocean.

Is this a real piece of ocean floor?

Yes. This is an authentic piece of Tethys Ocean limestone - real ancient sea floor lifted thousands of feet above sea level by tectonic forces and now preserved in the geological record of the European Alps. Not a cast.

What lived in the Tethys Ocean?

The Tethys Ocean was home to ammonites, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, and a wide diversity of invertebrate marine life during the Triassic and Jurassic Periods. Many of the specimen types available elsewhere in the Museumize collection came from animals that swam in this ancient sea.

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Tethys Ocean Floor - Authentic Triassic Limestone Marine Fossil Specimen

Name: Tethys Ocean Floor - Authentic Triassic Limestone Marine Fossil Specimen
SKU: 80-112-0237-201-40
Price: 29.0 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

Tethys Ocean Floor - Authentic Triassic Limestone Marine Fossil Specimen

SKU:80-112-0237-201-40

$29.00 USD

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The Tethys Ocean was an ancient sea that emerged from the supercontinent Pangea during the Triassic Period. For millions of years it was filled with aquatic animals - ammonites, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and a diversity of invertebrate life that we know today only through the fossil record. As tectonic plates crashed against each other, the bedrock of this ocean floor was lifted thousands of feet above sea level - preserved as limestone deposits in what is now the European Alps and the Himalayas. This authentic Tethys Ocean floor fossil specimen is a piece of that ancient sea bed: a real piece of the floor of an ocean that no longer exists.

A Piece of a Vanished Ocean - Lifted Into the Alps

The Tethys Ocean disappeared when the African and Indian tectonic plates collided with Eurasia, closing the sea and forcing its floor upward to form the mountain ranges of southern Europe and Asia. The limestone you hold in this specimen was once the floor of a warm Mesozoic sea - deposited grain by grain by the accumulated shells and skeletons of millions of marine organisms over millions of years. This real prehistoric ocean floor fossil slab is presented in a glass-topped riker display case with an informational card also serving as the certificate of authenticity.

The Authentic Tethys Ocean Floor Fossil for Collectors

This is not a cast. This is a genuine piece of ancient ocean floor. Each specimen includes a Mini Museum certificate of authenticity and informational display card. Explore more in our Natural History Collection.