Predatory Dinosaurs from the Sahara and Late Cretaceous Faunal Differentiation
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) fossils discovered in the Kem Kem region of Morocco include large predatory dinosaurs that inhabited Africa as it drifted into geographic isolation. One, represented by a skull approximately 1.6 meters in length, is an advanced allosauroid referable to the African genus Carcharodontosaurus. Another, represented by a partial skeleton with slender proportions, is a new basal coelurosaur closely resembling the Egyptian genus Bahariasaurus. Comparisons with Cretaceous theropods from other continents reveal a previously unrecognized global radiation of carcharodontosaurid predators. Substantial geographic differentiation of dinosaurian faunas in response to continental drift appears to have arisen abruptly at the beginning of the Late Cretaceous.
Sereno
PC
P. C. Sereno, H. C. E. Larsson, P. M. Magwene, C. A. Sidor, J. A. Wilson, Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, 1027 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. D. B. Dutheil, 48 rue de la Rochefoucauld, 75009 Paris, France. M. Iarochene, Ministere de l'Energie et des Mines, Rabat, Morocco. G. H. Lyon, 3551 Carter Hill Road, Montgomery, AL 36111, USA. D. J. Varricchio, Old Trail Museum, Post Office Box 919, Choteau, MT 59422, USA.
Dutheil
DB
Iarochene
M
Larsson
HCE
Lyon
GH
Magwene
PM
Sidor
CA
Varricchio
DJ
Wilson
JA