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Kem Kem ---Why so few food fossils?


FF7_Yuffie

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I'd love people's thoughts on this if anyone knows, but I find it odd that Kem Kem doesnt have much food fossils (other than Rebbachisaurus, which is kinda big to be prey) but has a number of carnivores.

 

It's weird to me becausr most other formations have food fossils in abundance--Iguanodon at IoW, Ceratopsians and Hadrosaurs common in NA.

 

I'm surprised Kem Kem doesnt really have its own common hadrosaur or iguanodon type. 

 

Anyone here know/have thoughts on why?

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The subject of unbalanced diversity between Theropods and Herbivores has been the subject of many discussions and theories.   Buts let's first understand what is known.  Two sauropod have been identified in the KK Group an undescribed large Titanosaurid and the smaller Rebbachisaurus you mention.  Ornithischians are extremely rare but also discovered was a single isolated tooth of a thyreophoran from the  Douira Formation of the KK Group and a footprint so they provide the only evidence thus far that these herbivores existed or were at least transient.   

Ibrahims et al paper on the fauna also points out that the KK has an overbundance of large bodied predators.  From that paper  " the Kem Kem assemblage is dominated by aquatic and subaquatic nonvertebrates and vertebrates (~85%, ~40 species), nearly all of which are predators . Most of the described vertebrates, with the exception of some of the pterosaurs and dinosaurs, lived exclusively or predominantly within an aquatic setting, which would include pond, river, delta, and nearshore habitats. Most of the taxa in the assemblage, thus, are predators utilizing aquatic food resources as in modern marine food webs."  So the paleoenviroment was not typical of what is suited for grazing type of herbivores .    

Screenshot_20200602-041636.thumb.jpg.93e5e5a7af63d0b0d4135f045e43343e.jpg

 

A good read on this subject and the KK overall fauna

 

https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/47517/

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There is also a single footprint of a likely ornithopod from the Kem Kem group.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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To echo Troodon's info, much of the predators represented in the Kem Kem beds rely primarily on fish such as Spinosaurus, the toothed pterosaurs, and the several genera of aquatic crocs. The terrestrial based carnivores being Carcharodontosaurids (Carch & Sauroniops if it's valid), abelisaurids (cf. Rugops + others not yet known), an unnamed Noasaurid (usually what the smaller "raptor teeth" we see pop up on here belong to), the terrestrial crocs like Araripesuchus and Hamadasuchus and the azdharcoids Xericeps and Alanqa. While there was certainly plenty of niche partitioning going on, I do find it strange that there is such a discrepancy between herbivores and carnivores, but some of it being attributable to the ecosystem being a river delta.

As for the herbivores we have Rebacchisaurus, unnamed titanosaur, and a possible thyreophoran along with a track of a possible ornithopod. Although it's known from incomplete remains, I have seen people online suggest that Deltadromeus may be a large elaphrosaurine, and it would make sense as it would not have to compete for prey with the other predators in the environment. 

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