A new caprin bovid (Mammalia) from the late Miocene of Morocco

We describe here a bovid skull from the Upper Member of the Aït Kandoula Formation near Ouarzazate, Morocco, which can be dated by biostratigraphy to the late Miocene, Turolian-equivalent.We assign it to a new taxon, Skouraia helicoides, gen. nov., sp. nov. It has long horn-cores that are much inclined backwards, strongly spiralled in homonymous direction, very divergent, and have a strong anterolateral keel. The strong cranial flexure, broad basioccipital, and aegodont teeth demand inclusion of this new taxon within the tribe Caprini, a mostly Eurasian group with few African representatives. Skouraia must be an early offshoot of this tribe, but its highly derived cranial features suggest that the Caprini may have experienced, in the poorly known late Miocene of Africa, a broader morphological diversification than in Europe

Dinosaur footprints and other Ichnofauna from the Cretaceous Kem Kem Beds of Morocco

We describe an extensive ichnofossil assemblage from the likely Cenomanian-age 'lower' and 'upper' units of the 'Kem Kem beds' in southeastern Morocco. In the lower unit, trace fossils include narrow vertical burrows in cross-bedded sandstones and borings in dinosaur bone, with the latter identified as the insect ichnotaxon Cubiculum ornatus. In the upper unit, several horizons preserve abundant footprints from theropod dinosaurs. Sauropod and ornithischian footprints are much rarer, similar to the record for fossil bone and teeth in the Kem Kem assemblage. The upper unit also preserves a variety of invertebrate traces including Conichnus (the resting trace of a sea-anemone), Scolicia (a gastropod trace), Beaconites (a probable annelid burrow), and subvertical burrows likely created by crabs for residence and detrital feeding on a tidal flat. The ichnofossil assemblage from the Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem beds contributes evidence for a transition from predominantly terrestrial to marine deposition. Body fossil and ichnofossil records together provide a detailed view of faunal diversity and local conditions within a fluvial and deltaic depositional setting on the northwestern coast of Africa toward the end of the Cretaceous

THE HIPPARIONINE HORSES (PERISSODACTYLA: MAMMALIA) FROM THE LATE MIOCENE OF TIZI N’TADDERHT (SOUTHERN OUARZAZATE BASIN; CENTRAL HIGH ATLAS; MOROCCO)

The fossiliferous locality of Tizi N’Tadderht, already known in the literature , has yielded a significant vertebrate fossil association as it represents the first documentation of a Late Miocene vertebrate fauna in the western area of North Africa. The group of fossil Equidae here analyzed had been preliminarly studied by previous authors, who identified the following hipparionini species: aff. Cremohipparion periafricanum, Hippotheriini gen. et sp. indet., and cf. Hippotherium primigenium. The sample retrieved from the considered area has been revised through the description of the morphologies and the dimensional measurements analysis. Then, it has been compared with the collection of fossil Equidae of the Libyan fossil site of As Sahabi, where the following species of Equidae hipparionini are represented: Sivalhippus sp., Eurygnathohippus feibeli and Cremohipparion mattewi. The revision of the Tizi N’Tadderht association led to the identification of the following species: Hippotherium sp. (characterized by large size); Eurygnathohippus cf. feibeli (a medium-sized Equidae; for the first time recognized in the Tizi N’Tadderht site); aff. Cremohipparion periafricanum (distinguished for its small size, as previously hypothesized in literature). The discovery of Eurygnathohippus cf. feibeli at Tizi N’Tadderht is of particular importance as it extends the paleogeographic record of this Hipparion species present in other African sites, showing that it is well represented in the fossil record of the Late Miocene

A New Pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea: Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Morocco

The Kem Kem beds in South Eastern Morocco contain a rich early Upper (or possibly late Lower) Cretaceous vertebrate assemblage. Fragmentary remains, predominantly teeth and jaw tips, represent several kinds of pterosaur although only one species, the ornithocheirid Coloborhynchus moroccensis, has been named. Here, we describe a new azhdarchid pterosaur, Alanqa saharica nov. gen. nov. sp., based on an almost complete well preserved mandibular symphysis from Aferdou N'Chaft. We assign additional fragmentary jaw remains, some of which have been tentatively identified as azhdarchid and pteranodontid, to this new taxon which is distinguished from other azhdarchids by a remarkably straight, elongate, lance-shaped mandibular symphysis that bears a pronounced dorsal eminence near the posterior end of its dorsal (occlusal) surface. Most remains, including the holotype, represent individuals of approximately three to four meters in wingspan, but a fragment of a large cervical vertebra, that probably also belongs to A. saharica, suggests that wingspans of six meters were achieved in this species. The Kem Kem beds have yielded the most diverse pterosaur assemblage yet reported from Africa and provide the first clear evidence for the presence of azhdarchids in Gondwana at the start of the Late Cretaceous. This, the relatively large size achieved by Alanqa, and the additional evidence of variable jaw morphology in azhdarchids provided by this taxon, indicates a longer and more complex history for this clade than previously suspected

Guelb el Ahmar (Bathonian, Anoual Syncline, eastern Morocco): First continental flora and fauna including mammals from the Middle Jurassic of Africa

We report the discovery in Mesozoic continental “red beds” of Anoual Syncline, Morocco, of the new Guelb el Ahmar (GEA) fossiliferous sites in the Bathonian Anoual Formation. They produced one of the richest continental biotic assemblages from the Jurassic of Gondwana, including plants, invertebrates and vertebrates. Both the sedimentological facies and the biotic assemblage indicate a lacustrine depositional environment. The flora is represented by tree trunks (three families), pollen (13 species, five major clades) and charophytes. It suggests local forests and humid (non-arid) conditions. The vertebrate fauna is dominated by microvertebrates recovered by screening–washing. It is rich and diverse, with at least 29 species of all major groups (osteichthyans, lissamphibians, chelonians, diapsids, mammals), except chondrichthyans. It includes the first mammals discovered in the Middle Jurassic of Arabo-Africa. The GEA sites yielded some of the earliest known representatives of osteoglossiform fishes, albanerpetontid and caudate amphibians, squamates (scincomorphans, anguimorphan), cladotherian mammals, and likely choristoderes. The choristoderes, if confirmed, are the first found in Gondwana, the albanerpetontid and caudatan amphibians are among the very few known in Gondwana, and the anguimorph lizard is the first known from the Mesozoic of Gondwana. Mammals (Amphitheriida, cf. Dryolestida) remain poorly known, but are the earliest cladotherians known in Gondwana. The GEA biotic assemblage is characterized by the presence of Pangean and Laurasian (especially European) taxa, and quasi absence of Gondwanan taxa. The paleobiogeographical analysis suggests either a major fossil bias in Gondwana during the Middle Jurassic, and an overall vicariant Pangean context for the GEA assemblage, or alternatively, noticeable Laurasian (European) affinities and North-South dispersals. The close resemblance between the Bathonian faunas of GEA and Britain is remarkable, even in a Pangean context. The similarity between the local Anoual Syncline Guelb el Ahmar and Ksar Metlili faunas raises questions on the ?Berriasian age of the latter

Preliminary report on the taxonomic revision of Fossil Equidae from Tizi’n Tadderht (Ouarzazate, Morocco)

We are reviewing the sample of fossil Equidae, belon-ging to the genus “Hipparion” s.s. (see Armour-Chelu & Bernor, 2011) from Tizi’n Tadderht (Ouarzazate, Morocco), a fossiliferous site chronologically referable to the Late Miocene.The fossiliferous locality of Tizi’n Tadderht, already known in the literature (Geraads et al., 2012; Zouhri et al., 2012), has yielded a small but significant vertebrate fossil association. It represents the first documentation of a Late Miocene vertebrate fauna in the western area of North Africa. This new fauna allows to expand the possibilities of investigation on the biogeographical and evolutionary record of the vertebrate fossils in the circum-Mediterranean are

Longirostrine crocodylians from the Bartonian of Morocco and Paleogene climatic and sea level oscillations in the Peri-Tethys area

International audienceThe Eocene–Oligocene transition was a period of high faunal and floral turnover, often correlated with climatic deterioration. Crocodyliforms are climate sensitive, and they have been often used for reconstruction of paleoclimates. The description of crocodylian material from the Bartonian of Aaiun-Tarfaya Basin (Morocco) allows the recognition of at least two longirostrine crocodylians, including a gavialoid. This identification is important, because the migration of gavialoids to South America probably occurred during the late Eocene. Close relationships between late Eocene–early Oligocene Eogavialis africanum from Egypt, Argochampsa krebsi from the Paleocene of Morocco, and the South American gavialoid clade suggests that Morocco could have had a particular place in the gavialoid dispersal route to South America. The resemblance between Moroccan material described herein and E. africanum is thus important in this context. Analysis of the distribution of longirostrine crocodylians in the Peri-Tethys area through the Eocene–Oligocene shows a strong difference in the evolution of the distribution between longirostrine crocodylians and Diplocynodon. Whereas the freshwater Diplocynodon has a continuous distribution in western Europe, the mainly marine longirostrine crocodylians have a northern maximal expansion that moves southward during the middle Eocene, being restricted to North Africa during late Eocene–early Oligocene. European freshwater Asiatosuchus-like taxa also disappear during the late Eocene. Climatic deterioration, helped by sea level oscillations, may have strongly impacted the diversity and latitudinal distribution of the crocodylians, but we highlight a possible differential tolerance in range of climatic conditions between crocodylians. This could help to refine the use of crocodylians as paleoclimatic proxies