Abstract
Abelisaurid theropods first appear in the fossil record in the early Jurassic and survived at least until the end of the Mesozoic. They were known to have dominated South America, India and Madagascar but were not so abundant in North America or Asia. Much less is known about their presence in Africa, although there has been several recent discoveries of abelisaurid material in Morocco. Here we add a partially preserved ilium to a growing body of evidence that suggests abelisaurs might also have dominated Africa.
Highlights
Abelisaurid theropods first appear in the fossil record in the early Jurassic and survived until at least the end of the Mesozoic [1,2,3]
The ilium is highly fractured and fragile. It was discovered completely clear of matrix and consists of several pieces. Once these pieces had been cleaned and re-assembled it became clear that the iliac blade is incomplete and the anterior process is damaged
Almost two thirds of characters from the ilium which are normally used in the most important phylogenetic classifications are based on the pubic peduncle, the anterior process and the anterior side of the iliac blade
Summary
Abelisaurid theropods first appear in the fossil record in the early Jurassic and survived until at least the end of the Mesozoic [1,2,3] These dinosaurs were dominant in South America, India, and Madagascar but are thought to have been less abundant in North America and Asia [3]. We add a partially preserved ilium to a growing body of evidence that suggests that abelisaurs were present, and dominant in Africa. This material was recovered from the surface at the Aferdou site, near the Gara Sbaalocality, Morocco. This locality is situated within the Kem Kem beds, which outcrop in the lower Cenomanian of Eastern Morocco
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