[dinosaur] Abelisauroid cervical vertebrae from Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of Morocco

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper:

Robert S.H. Smyth, Nizar Ibrahim, Alexander Kao & David M. Martill (2019)
Abelisauroid cervical vertebrae from the Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of
Southern Morocco and a review of Kem Kem abelisauroids.
Cretaceous Research (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1016_j.cretres.2019.104330&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=EeU2nLEx5ugDW3umoMEaxD3BJhmOAaIF7fYm7i8iXJc&s=-uB5wS6_lFabPoM5cH6vAs1XdbGW4IGAVy220E24TaY&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sciencedirect.com_science_article_pii_S0195667119303738&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=EeU2nLEx5ugDW3umoMEaxD3BJhmOAaIF7fYm7i8iXJc&s=W3lZ5nBWIjJMfeM_1aB16R8LMkTbvm6bpnBqghcmSKQ&e= 


Isolated cervical vertebrae from the mid Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of south
east Morocco are referred to the theropod dinosaur clade Abelisauroidea,
and represent the first axial remains from this deposit referred to this
clade. An isolated axis is referred to Abelisauroidea on account of the
invaginated spinopostzygapophyseal lamina; the extremely large, projecting
and pointed epipophyses; and the anteroposteriorly long, transversely
compressed neural spine with a gently convex and unexpanded dorsal margin.
In addition, postzygapophyseal facets which completely overhang the centrum
posteriorly and lack lateral orientation indicate abelisaurid affinities.
An anterior cervical (C4?) is referred to Noasauridae based on an
anteriorly-positioned, reduced neural spine and extremely well developed
centroprezygapophyseal fossae. This specimen represents both the smallest
dinosaur and the first definitive small-bodied dinosaur from the Kem Kem
beds. The affinities of the new material are discussed in the context of
other abelisauroid remains reported from the Kem Kem assemblage and
elsewhere in Africa.