Jump to content

Moroccan Abelisaurid Described


Troodon

Recommended Posts

For those collectors that love Moroccan dinosaur material I have some good news and some not so good news.   The good news :D is that we finally have an Abelsaurid described from Morocco its called Chenanisaurus barbaricus .  The not so good news :( is that its NOT from the Kem Kem Beds but from the Maastrichtian Phosphate Mines in the Ouled Abdoun basin.   .

 

I reported about this theropod back in 2015 and a jaw, with teeth, was subsequently found which enabled paleontologists to describe this new species.  This is what is lacking in the Kem Kem Beds.   We should have a march in Morocco to protest lack of Jaws....:D

 

 

Two teeth from my collection  

 

AbelT3.thumb.jpg.be165d5536bd3089cf00d8b13d1d1e0e.jpg

AbelT4c.thumb.jpg.9529e0ac10087ec0804191760a42cfe3.jpg

 

 

Now that we have a name I raise the red flag with all collectors to be cautious of individuals trying to sell Carcharodontosaurus teeth from Kem Kem as this species.   The best way insure your getting the correct locality is to have it on a matrix slab.   Phosphate matrix is very different than the Kem Kem's.  These teeth have been quite rare and I acquired the only two I've seen but now we have a name that always seems to attract entrepreneurs in Morocco :ighappy: .

 

Dentary teeth should follow typical Abelsaurid morphology with the distal side being very perpendicular to the base. 

 

Paper:

An abelisaurid from the latest Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) of Morocco, North Africa

Nicholas R. Longrich, Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola, Nour-Eddine Jalil, Fatima Khaldoune, Essaid Jourani

 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667116303706

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks so much for sharing, Troodon! That's fantastic news that an actual jaw was found, leading to the description of a new dinosaur!  Unfortunately, it's not in the Kem Kem, but at least you'll be able to put a species name on these teeth in your collection. :) 

 

I suspect we'll see some teeth having this identification sooner than we think.  Buyer beware indeed!  :popcorn:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for sharing indeed.

 

It should be intersting to compare Kem Kem Abelisaurid teeth with these Maastrichtian Abelisaur teeth and the Abelisaur teeth from Niger and see which is the closer match.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, LordTrilobite said:

Thanks for sharing indeed.

 

It should be intersting to compare Kem Kem Abelisaurid teeth with these Maastrichtian Abelisaur teeth and the Abelisaur teeth from Niger and see which is the closer match.

 

The Abelisaurid indet. teeth we see from the Kem Kem are much smaller and may just reflect a small to mid size animal like Rugops.  Have not seen large Abelisaurid teeth not to say they dont exists.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was lucky enough to come across a very similar tooth a few years ago while prepping a mosasaur skull.  This tooth comes from the 3rd layer in the phosphates.  It looks very similar to those described in the paper.  When I first uncovered this gut I assumes shark tooth and then as I worked my way carefully around it I realized it was serrated and was actually from a small therapod.  Since I found it I believed it to be Abelisaurid innature.  The serrations on mine look slightly larger and not as uniform as those described, but still very similar.

IMG_8044.JPG

IMG_4988.JPG

_____________________________________
Seth

fossil-shack-new-banner-use-copy.png
www.fossilshack.com

www.americanfossil.com

www.fishdig.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 An abelisaurid but the color looks like Kem Kem not the phosphates of the Ouled basin. The reds are Kem Kem. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Troodon. There are some red pebbles stuck to the base of that tooth. Definitely looks like Kem Kem Beds.

 

Stuff from Khouribga/Phosphate basin is all beige or greyish.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...
On 3/28/2017 at 9:27 AM, Troodon said:

For those collectors that love Moroccan dinosaur material I have some good news and some not so good news.   The good news :D is that we finally have an Abelsaurid described from Morocco its called Chenanisaurus barbaricus .  The not so good news :( is that its NOT from the Kem Kem Beds but from the Maastrichtian Phosphate Mines in the Ouled Abdoun basin.   .

 

I reported about this theropod back in 2015 and a jaw, with teeth, was subsequently found which enabled paleontologists to describe this new species.  This is what is lacking in the Kem Kem Beds.   We should have a march in Morocco to protest lack of Jaws....:D

 

 

Two teeth from my collection  

 

AbelT3.thumb.jpg.be165d5536bd3089cf00d8b13d1d1e0e.jpg

AbelT4c.thumb.jpg.9529e0ac10087ec0804191760a42cfe3.jpg

 

 

Now that we have a name I raise the red flag with all collectors to be cautious of individuals trying to sell Carcharodontosaurus teeth from Kem Kem as this species.   The best way insure your getting the correct locality is to have it on a matrix slab.   Phosphate matrix is very different than the Kem Kem's.  These teeth have been quite rare and I acquired the only two I've seen but now we have a name that always seems to attract entrepreneurs in Morocco :ighappy: .

 

Dentary teeth should follow typical Abelsaurid morphology with the distal side being very perpendicular to the base. 

 

Paper:

An abelisaurid from the latest Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) of Morocco, North Africa

Nicholas R. Longrich, Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola, Nour-Eddine Jalil, Fatima Khaldoune, Essaid Jourani

 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667116303706

Gorgeous teeth Troodon! Thanks for sharing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...