Abstract
Two different theropod pedal unguals from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Tafilalt, Morocco are described. One of them belongs to a slender kind of abelisauroid theropod. Comparison with other members of this group reveals that abelisauroid unguals show high morphological diversity in congruence with what is known on other parts of the skeleton. Another large-sized ungual resembles that described as “Spinosaurus B” by Stromer (1934), and is here referred with caution to Theropoda, although ignoring to which theropod lineage it belongs. Comparisons between northern (e.g., Sahara, Africa and Brazil) and southern (e.g., Patagonia) Gondwanan Cretaceous dinosaur faunas reveal some differences leading to the conclusion that Gondwanan faunas were not uniform across this supercontinent.
Highlights
Current knowledge of theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of Africa is deceptively fragmentary and taxonomically confuse
In the present paper we describe the anatomy of some theropod pedal unguals collected in the Upper Cretaceous beds of Southern Morocco, offering anatomical basis for the taxonomic referral of the studied specimens
Some distinctions in taxonomic composition become apparent when northern Gondwanan (e.g., African Sahara plus northeastern Brazil) reptile faunas are compared with those recorded at higher latitudes (e.g., Patagonia)
Summary
Current knowledge of theropod dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of Africa is deceptively fragmentary and taxonomically confuse. Among the variety of dinosaur remains found in Cenomanian beds of Northern Africa, theropod ungual phalanges have been frequently recovered (e.g., Stromer, 1934; Rauhut, 1995; Russell, 1996).
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