4.6" Fossil Theropod Caudal Vertebra Centrum - Morocco

This is a 4.6" fossil caudal vertebra of a large theropod from the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco. The bone has been compressed as a result of deposition and sedimentation. Most of the vertebral arch is still intact on this specimen. The spinal process is missing.

There are two large theropods known from the Kem Kem Beds, Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. Both have very similar anatomy at the bone level. There are some subtle differences but this bone lacks the markers needed to make a definitive distinction between these two giant theropods.

The Kem Kem Group is famous for yielding a diverse Late Cretaceous vertebrate assemblage, including fish, reptiles, and dinosaurs such as Spinosaurus. These fossils are found in a thin bed that outcrops around the edge of a large plateau near Taouz, Morocco. Local miners collect these fossils by digging narrow tunnels by hand into this plateau, following the layer.

A paper on this assemblage can be found at: Vertebrate assemblages from the early Late Cretaceous of southeastern Morocco: An overview

One of the tunnels dug into the Kem Kem beds by local miners following the productive fossil beds.
One of the tunnels dug into the Kem Kem beds by local miners following the productive fossil beds.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Unidentified Theropod
LOCATION
Taouz, Kem Kem Basin, Morocco
FORMATION
Kem Kem Beds
SIZE
4.6" long, 5.8 tall, 5.1 wide
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#118163
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