Moroccan Theropods - Poorly Understood

[Troodon]

The theropod landscape of the Kem Kem deposits continue to be more muddled with new discoveries and research but that should not surprise anyone.  I've made several post about multiple Spinosaurid and Carcharodontosaurid in the Kem Kem and it continues to be supported by recent publications.

 

The attached paper describes a femur that supports the concept that Abelisaurid's were in the Kem Kem.  We are seeing teeth...so that's good.

 

The paper however looks at the region:

Figure 2 below, included in that paper, identifies the main theropod fauna of the region.  The abbreviation KKCA under Morocco stands for Kem Kem Compound Assemblage.  

 

Please note that under KKCA there are two Spinosaurids mentioned Sigilmassasaurus and Spinosaurus indet.   The paper concludes that there is to much ambiguity in the material studied to assign it to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus and further reevaluation is needed.  Boy that sure puts an arrow through Ibrahim's Spino redesign. It also states that Kemkemia auditorei, paper attached, may be a crocodyliform or like the paper suggest a spinosaurid.  

 

The figure also shows two Carcharodontosaurid:  Carcharodontosaurus and Sauroniops.

Also Rugops is shown exclusive to Niger. 

 

 

More changes will come and hopfully in some lifetime we will have answers.  

 

So if you want to follow proper convention all Spino and Carch material should be identified has indeterminate but if you have that need to have a species name that's okay  no one will know.

 

Abelisaurid paper

1754-4.pdf

 

Kemkemia  paper

54a7b1c70cf267bdb90a1cf9.pdf

[LordTrilobite]

I did not have the kemkemia paper yet, thanks! The Abelisaurid teeth from Kem Kem have also sometimes been discribed as cf. Rugops primus right?

[Troodon]

1 hour ago, LordTrilobite said:

I did not have the kemkemia paper yet, thanks! The Abelisaurid teeth from Kem Kem have also sometimes been discribed as cf. Rugops primus right?

Yes by some dealers...it's an Abelisaurid so you draw that conclusion.  Have not seen anything from a research paper.  However with all of the regional differences we see with the other theropods it's probably reasonable to say that it will be a different taxon. 

 

Not much found with Kemkemia so who knows where that will turn out.  Heck we need an expedition to figure this all out...let's get some volunteers and go...

[DD1991]

On 10/14/2016 at 9:04 AM, Troodon said:

Yes by some dealers...it's an Abelisaurid so you draw that conclusion.  Have not seen anything from a research paper.  However with all of the regional differences we see with the other theropods it's probably reasonable to say that it will be a different taxon. 

 

Not much found with Kemkemia so who knows where that will turn out.  Heck we need an expedition to figure this all out...let's get some volunteers and go...

Lio  et al. (2012) reclassified Kemkemia as a crocodyliform based on comparisons with the caudals of crocodyliforms. The Kemkemia description is available at this link.

 

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.