Sauropod dinosaur fossils from the Kem Kem and extended ‘Continental Intercalaire’ of North Africa: A review

Abstract

The Cretaceous (likely Aptian-Cenomanian) Kem Kem beds of Morocco are famous for their fossil-richness, including theropods, and several sauropod body fossils, such as Rebbachisaurus garasbae, as well as isolated sauropod teeth. Deposits from this particular age, however, stretch across Algeria and Tunisia, with possibly contemporaneous fossiliferous beds also being known from Egypt and Niger. Although the sediments of North Africa have yielded more complete sauropod specimens in recent years dated to either Cenomanian or Campanian-Maastrichtian, in general, these sites are not well-known. A recent study on isolated sauropod teeth from Morocco and Algeria revealed that a diverse sauropod fauna existed, and, moreover, evidence has been found of sauropod migration from Africa to Europe in the Cretaceous. In order to provide a better overview of the sauropod presence in the Albian-Cenomanian of North Africa, an overview of all sauropod material known from this time is necessary. Therefore, several previous reports on sauropod fossils and teeth from the Kem Kem and the ‘Continental Intercalaire’ of North Africa are here reviewed and summarized.