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Ibrahim N, Sereno PC, Varricchio DJ, Martill DM, Dutheil DB, Unwin DM, Baidder L, Larsson HC, Zouhri S, Kaoukaya A. Geology and paleontology of the Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of eastern Morocco. Zookeys 2020; 928:1-216. [PMID: 32362741 PMCID: PMC7188693 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.928.47517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The geological and paleoenvironmental setting and the vertebrate taxonomy of the fossiliferous, Cenomanian-age deltaic sediments in eastern Morocco, generally referred to as the "Kem Kem beds", are reviewed. These strata are recognized here as the Kem Kem Group, which is composed of the lower Gara Sbaa and upper Douira formations. Both formations have yielded a similar fossil vertebrate assemblage of predominantly isolated elements pertaining to cartilaginous and bony fishes, turtles, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs, as well as invertebrate, plant, and trace fossils. These fossils, now in collections around the world, are reviewed and tabulated. The Kem Kem vertebrate fauna is biased toward large-bodied carnivores including at least four large-bodied non-avian theropods (an abelisaurid, Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Deltadromeus), several large-bodied pterosaurs, and several large crocodyliforms. No comparable modern terrestrial ecosystem exists with similar bias toward large-bodied carnivores. The Kem Kem vertebrate assemblage, currently the best documented association just prior to the onset of the Cenomanian-Turonian marine transgression, captures the taxonomic diversity of a widespread northern African fauna better than any other contemporary assemblage from elsewhere in Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nizar Ibrahim
- Department of Biology, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, Michigan 48221, USA
| | - Paul C. Sereno
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy and Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - David J. Varricchio
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - David M. Martill
- School of the Environment, Geography and Geological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, UK
| | - Didier B. Dutheil
- Centre de Recherche sur la Paléobiodiversité et les Paléoenvironnements, UMR7207 (CNRS-MNHN-UPMC), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, 75005 Paris, France
| | - David M. Unwin
- School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RF, UK
| | - Lahssen Baidder
- Laboratoire Géosciences, Département de Géologie, Faculté des Sciences Aïn Chock, Université Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
| | | | - Samir Zouhri
- Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Santé, Faculté des Sciences Aïn Chock, Université Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
| | - Abdelhadi Kaoukaya
- Laboratoire Géosciences, Département de Géologie, Faculté des Sciences Aïn Chock, Université Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
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