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Geological Magazine; July 2009; v. 146; no. 4; p. 602-616; DOI: 10.1017/S0016756809005950
© 2009 Cambridge University Press (CUP)
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Theropod teeth from the basalmost Cretaceous of Anoual (Morocco) and their palaeobiogeographical significance

F. KNOLL*,{dagger} and J. I. RUIZ-OMEÑACA{ddagger}

* Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, E-28006 Madrid, Spain
{ddagger} Museo del Jurásico de Asturias, Rasa de San Telmo, E-33328 Colunga, Spain

{dagger} Author for correspondence: mcnfk854{at}mncn.csic.es

The theropod teeth from the Berriasian (Early Cretaceous) site of Anoual (N Morocco) are described. The assemblage is important in that it comes from one of the very few dinosaur sites of this age globally and the only one for the whole of Gondwana. The theropod teeth from Anoual are morphologically diverse. Most of the material possibly belongs to the clade Dromaeosauridae, which would be an early occurrence for this taxon. The palaeogeographic position of Anoual enables it to provide data on the dispersal events that affected terrestrial faunas during Mesozoic times. A Laurasian influence is evidenced by the presence of Velociraptorinae and, on the whole, the theropod fauna from Anoual provides support for the existence of a trans-Tethyan passage allowing terrestrial faunal interchanges during Late Jurassic and/or earliest Cretaceous times. Additionally, Anoual records the existence of diminutive theropods. However, it cannot yet be determined whether the small size of the specimens is genetic or ontogenetic.

Key Words: dinosaur • Cretaceous • palaeogeography • Africa • Europe






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