Gold Half Gram 2022 Extinct Predators - Mosasaurus, Coin from Senegal - detailed information

Senegal uses the West African CFA Franc as its circulation currency, together with seven other states in West Africa which make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA; Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine): Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Togo. The currency is issued by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO; Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest), and - unlike for example the Euro - its coins are not marked with an individual country of issue.

Some of the member countries however issue non-circulating collector and commemorative coinage, which Senegal has been doing since 1968. Some of these coins are in the internationally popular half gram (0.5g) of gold mini-coin collector format - such as this one.

This coin is part of the the Extinct Predators Series, and is dedicated to Mosasaurus. It is a "companion coin" to the silver ounce with a similar design which was issued for Congo.

Living through the Late Cretaceous period (82 - 66 million years ago), this aquatic reptile was an apex predator, growing up to an estimated 17.6 meters in length. Its skull was equipped with robust jaws capable of swinging back and forth and strong muscles capable of powerful bites using dozens of large teeth designed for cutting prey. Its four limbs were shaped into robust paddles to steer the animal underwater. Its tail was long and ended in a paddle-like fluke that bent downwards.

Mosasaurus was a predator that had excellent vision to compensate for its poor sense of smell, and a high metabolic rate that suggests it was warm-blooded. Fossil evidence suggests that Mosasaurus inhabited much of the Atlantic Ocean and the seaways adjacent to it. Scientists believe that its diet would have included virtually any animal; it likely preyed on bony fish, sharks, cephalopods, birds, and other marine reptiles including sea turtles and other mosasaurs. It likely preferred to hunt in open water near the surface.