Kem Kem Beds

Kem Kem Talis
Stratigraphic range: Cenomanian[1]
Type Geological formation
Location
Country  Morocco
 Algeria

The Kem Kem Beds (also referred to by various names including the Continental Red Beds and Continental intercalaire[2]) is a geological formation along the border between Morocco and Algeria in southeastern Morocco, whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.[1] Recent fossil evidence in the form of isolated large abelisaurid bones and comparisons with other similarly aged deposits elsewhere in Africa indicates that the fauna of the Kem Kem Beds (specifically in regard to the numerous predatory theropod dinosaurs) may have been mixed together due to the harsh and changing geology of the region when in reality they would likely have preferred separate habitats and likely would be separated by millions of years.[3]

Vertebrate paleofauna

Crocodylomorphs

Crocodylomorphs reported from the Continental Red Beds
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Aegisuchus

Aegisuchus witmeri

"Partial braincase of a large individual with skull roof, temporal, and occipital regions."[4]

An aegyptosuchid.
Araripesuchus
Elosuchus cherifiensis

Araripesuchus

Araripesuchus rattoides

Elosuchus

Elosuchus cherifiensis

An Elosuchid.

Hamadasuchus

Hamadasuchus rebouli

A Peirosaurid.

Kemkemia

K. auditorei

Errachidia Province, Morocco[5]

Known from an isolated caudal vertebra.[5]

Initially thought to be a neotheropod,[5] but subsequently discovered to be an indeterminate crocodyliform.[6]

Laganosuchus

Laganosuchus maghrebensisis

A Stomatosuchid.

Dinosaurs

Indeterminate lithostrotian remains once misattributed to the Titanosauridae are present in the province of Ksar-es-Souk, Morocco.[1]

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
 Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
Dinosaurs reported from the Continental Red Beds
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images

Abelisauridae indet.[7]

Indeterminate

Isolated teeth.[7]
Partial right femur.[8]

An indeterminate abelisaurid.
Carcharodontosaurus saharicus
Deltadromeus agilis
Spinosaurus aegypticus

Carcharodontosaurus[1]

C. saharicus[1]

 Ksar-es-Souk province, Morocco.[1]

Deltadromeus

D. agilis

"Partial skeleton, isolated limb elements."[9]

Dromaeosauridae indet.[7]

Indeterminate

Isolated teeth.[7]

An indeterminate dromaeosaurid.

cf. Elaphrosaurus

Indeterminate

 Ksar-es-Souk province, Morocco.[1]

Fossils previously referred to cf. Elaphrosaurus are actually indeterminate theropod remains.

Inosaurus

I. tedreftensis

"Vertebrae."[10]

Rebbachisaurus

R. garasbae

Ksar-es-Souk province, Morocco.[1]

A rebbachisaurid.

Saurischia indet.[11]

Indeterminate

Isolated vertebrae.[11]

An indeterminate saurischian.

Sauroniops[12]

S. pachytholus

"An isolated and almost complete left frontal."[13]

A carcharodontosaurid distinct from Carcharodontosaurus.[12][13]

Sigilmassasaurus

S. brevicollis

Ksar-es-Souk province, Morocco.

Possible Spinosaurid.

Spinosaurus

S. Maroccanus

 Ksar-es-Souk province, Morocco.[1]

Pterosaurs

Pterosaurs of the Kem Kem Beds
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Abundance Notes Images

Alanqa[14]

A. saharica[14]
Alanqa saharica

Azhdarchidae indet.[15]

Indeterminate[15]

Three middle cervical vertebrae.[15][14]

Averianov (2014) considered these vertebrae to pertain to Alanqa saharica[16], although the vertebrae may be indicative of two taxa[15].

Azhdarchoidea indet.[15]

Indeterminate[15]

Humerus.[15]

Averianov (2014) considered it to be a specimen of Alanqa saharica.[16]

Dsungaripteroidea (sensu Kellner, 2003) indet.[15][17]

Indeterminate[15]

Anterior fragment from a jaw, possibly a mandible.[15]

May be a specimen of Alanqa saharica[16] or a non-azhdarchid azhdarchoid or nyctosaurid[15].

?Pteranodontidae indet.[14]

Indeterminate[14]

A fragment of bone, possibly the anterior section of rostrum.[14]

A possible pteranodontid[14] or a specimen of Alanqa saharica.[16]

Siroccopteryx[18]

S. moroccensis[18]

Classified by some authors as a species belonging to the genus Coloborhynchus.[14]

Tapejaridae indet.[19]

Indeterminate[19]

A fragment of bone originally interpreted as a fragment of anterior mandibular symphysis,[19] though it might pertain to the rostrum instead.[14]

Might belong to the family Thalassodromidae[14] or be a specimen of Alanqa saharica instead.[16]

Turtles

Turtles reported from the Continental Red Beds
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes

Dirqadim

Dirqadim schaefferi

A Euraxemydid

Galianemys

Galianemys emringeri

A Cearachelyin

Hamadachelys

Hamadachelys escuilliei

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, Africa)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 604-605. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
  2. ↑ Michard, A. (2008). Continental evolution: the geology of Morocco : structure, stratigraphy, and tectonics of the Africa-Atlantic-Mediterranean Triple junction. Published by Springer, 2008. 424 pages. ISBN 3-540-77075-5, ISBN 978-3-540-77075-6
  3. ↑ http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_29-2-2016-9-34-57
  4. ↑ Casey M. Holliday; Nicholas M. Gardner (2012). "A New Eusuchian Crocodyliform with Novel Cranial Integument and Its Significance for the Origin and Evolution of Crocodylia". PLoS ONE. 7 (1): e30471. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...7E0471H. PMC 3269432 Freely accessible. PMID 22303441. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030471.
  5. 1 2 3 Cau, Andrea; Maganuco, Simone (2009). "A new theropod dinosaur, represented by a single unusual caudal vertebra from the Kem Kem Beds (Cretaceous) of Morocco". Atti Soc. it. Sci. nat. Museo civ. Stor. nat. Milano 150 (II): 239–257.
  6. ↑ Lio, G., Agnolin, F., Cau, A. and Maganuco, S. (2012). "Crocodyliform affinities for Kemkemia auditorei Cau and Maganuco, 2009, from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco." Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano, 153 (I), s. 119–126.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Ute Richter; Alexander Mudroch; Lisa G. Buckley (2013). "Isolated theropod teeth from the Kem Kem Beds (Early Cenomanian) near Taouz, Morocco". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 87 (2): 291–309. doi:10.1007/s12542-012-0153-1.
  8. ↑ Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza; Andrea Cau (2016). "A large abelisaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from Morocco and comments on the Cenomanian theropods from North Africa". PeerJ. 4: e1754. PMC 4782726 Freely accessible. PMID 26966675. doi:10.7717/peerj.1754.
  9. ↑ "Table 4.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 76.
  10. ↑ "Table 4.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 78.
  11. 1 2 B. McFeeters (2013). "Bone "taxon" B: Reevaluation of a supposed small theropod dinosaur from the mid-Cretaceous of Morocco". Kirtlandia. 58: 38–41.
  12. 1 2 Andrea Cau; Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia; Matteo Fabbri (2012). "A thick-skulled theropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco with implications for carcharodontosaurid cranial evolution". Cretaceous Research. in press: 251–260. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2012.09.002.
  13. 1 2 Andrea Cau; Fabio Marco Dalla Vecchia; Matteo Fabbri (2012). "Evidence of a new carcharodontosaurid from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 57 (3): 661–665. doi:10.4202/app.2011.0043.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ibrahim, N.; Unwin, D.M.; Martill, D.M.; Baidder, L.; Zouhri, S. (2010). "A New Pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco". PLoS ONE. 5 (5): e10875. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...510875I. PMC 2877115 Freely accessible. PMID 20520782. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010875.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Taissa Rodrigues; Alexander W. A. Kellner; Bryn J. Mader; Dale A. Russell (2011). "New pterosaur specimens from the Kem Kem beds (Upper Cretaceous, Cenomanian) of Morocco". Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 117 (1): 149–160.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Alexander Averianov (2014). "Review of taxonomy, geographic distribution, and paleoenvironments of Azhdarchidae (Pterosauria)". ZooKeys. 432: 1–107. PMC 4141157 Freely accessible. PMID 25152671. doi:10.3897/zookeys.432.7913.
  17. ↑ I.e. a member of the clade containing the most recent common ancestor of Nyctosaurus and Quetzalcoatlus and all their descendants. See: Kellner, A.W.A., 2003. Pterosaur phylogeny and comments on the evolutionary history of the AN group. In: Buffetaut, E., Mazin, J.M. (Eds.), Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs. Geological Society, London, Special Publication 217, 105–137
  18. 1 2 Rodrigues, Taissa; Kellner, Alexander W. A (2008). "Review of the pterodactyloid pterosaur Coloborhynchus" (PDF). Zitteliana. B 28: 219–228.
  19. 1 2 3 Peter Wellnhofer; Eric Buffetaut (1999). "Pterosaur remains from the Cretaceous of Morocco". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 73 (1–2): 133–142. doi:10.1007/BF02987987.

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