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1.8" Cretaceous Fossil Crocodylomorph Tooth - Morocco
This is a 1.8" fossil crocodylomorph tooth from the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco. There are at least six genera known from the Kem Kem Group with very little described material. This makes it difficult to accurately identify the teeth.
Many teeth from this area are labeled Sarcosuchus but this is highly unlikely. The Kem Kem Beds are late Cretaceous (100.5-66 mya) deposits, while Sarchosuchus is from the early Cretaceous (145-100.5 mya) and appears to disappear from the fossil record millions of years before the deposition at Kem Kem had begun.
Many teeth from this area are labeled Sarcosuchus but this is highly unlikely. The Kem Kem Beds are late Cretaceous (100.5-66 mya) deposits, while Sarchosuchus is from the early Cretaceous (145-100.5 mya) and appears to disappear from the fossil record millions of years before the deposition at Kem Kem had begun.
The Kem Kem Group is famous for yielding a diverse Late Cretaceous vertebrate assemblage, including fish, reptiles, and dinosaurs such as Spinosaurus. These fossils are found in a thin bed that outcrops around the edge of a large plateau near Taouz, Morocco. Local miners collect these fossils by digging narrow tunnels by hand into this plateau, following the layer.
A paper on this assemblage can be found at: Vertebrate assemblages from the early Late Cretaceous of southeastern Morocco: An overview
A paper on this assemblage can be found at: Vertebrate assemblages from the early Late Cretaceous of southeastern Morocco: An overview
SPECIES
Unidentified
LOCATION
Taouz, Kem Kem Basin, Morocco
FORMATION
Kem Kem Beds
SIZE
1.8" long
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#292249
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