Possible Suchomimus or theropod toe bone from the Elhraz Formation?

[msantix]

Hi,

 

Saw this for sale and was just wondering if this looks like a theropod toe bone or if it could be narrowed down? it is labelled as from Suchomimus but it could instead be from a croc or another theropod if not Suchomimus. It is 10cm in length and comes from the Elhraz Formation in Gadoufaouna, Africa. Thanks.

 

[Pterygotus]

Is it just me or does the preservation look more kem kem than elhraz?

[Troodon]

Its a theropod toe bone, very little has been published on these digits from that formation.  You should ask the seller how he arrived at that assignment.  

[msantix]

6 minutes ago, Troodon said:

Its a theropod toe bone, very little has been published on these digits from that formation.  You should ask the seller how he arrived at that assignment.  

Thanks, the seller did say to let him know if it misidentified and he will update the listing, so it might not be Suchomimus. Do you think this bone is from Elhraz and not Kem Kem? the bone is weathered but to me it looks like from the Elhraz formation.

[Runner64]

27 minutes ago, Pterygotus said:

Is it just me or does the preservation look more kem kem than elhraz?

Agreed, doesn’t look like anything from Elrhaz Formation.

[Troodon]

48 minutes ago, msantix said:

Thanks, the seller did say to let him know if it misidentified and he will update the listing, so it might not be Suchomimus. Do you think this bone is from Elhraz and not Kem Kem? the bone is weathered but to me it looks like from the Elhraz formation.

I dont see Kem Kem but I really don't know all the different shades in this deposit.  Not a lot of bones are offered for sale.  Look for bones to compare against in the web.

[msantix]

I can't find many bones on the web from the Elhraz Formation and the ones i do find (generally the holotype fossils) have a better preservation than the bone in question, so i might have to ask the seller for more information about the locality if available.

[fossils-uk]

Thank you for your emails about this bone.. several emails and thought it might pop on here to have it "evaluated"... 

 

 

 

Here is my logically thought out process..... I bought this item at the tucson show with the details theropod toe bone elrhaz. The preservation is consistent with other bones that I have seen from this location that I have had in my hands before as they are usually found on the surface and usually weathered. The shape of the bone is certainly a toe bone, and certainly a theropod toe bone. The faunal list of the elrhaz formation lists only four theropods Afromimus, Eocarcharia, Suchomimus and Kryptops. 

The shape of the bone is very slender and therefore discounted afromimus as it enough is known and not a common bone from the formation. I also discounted Eocarcharia and Kryptops as their bones would be more robust much like charcarodontosaurus in morocco. I therefore compared this bone to similar apparent spinosaurid toe bones from the adjacent kem kem beds of morocco. It was clear it was a very similar shaped bone. Therefore the only Spinosaurid found in that formation is Suchomimus. The only species of suchomimus found is Suchomimus tenerensis. 

 

That is my logical thinking of this bone. If you discover that it is indeed something else please let me know and I can update the listing as appropriate. 

Best wishes

Byron blessed

 

[Troodon]

You might email Francois of Eldonia he is very familiar with Niger material and he can verify if the preservation is from Niger