Kem_Kem_Group

Kem Kem Group

Kem Kem Group

Geological group in eastern Morocco


The Kem Kem Group (commonly known as the Kem Kem beds[2]) is a geological group in the Kem Kem region of eastern Morocco, whose strata date back to the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Its strata are subdivided into two geological formations, with the lower Ifezouane Formation and the upper Aoufous Formation, with the Gara Sbaa Formation and Douira Formation used in the southern Tafilalt region.[3] It is exposed on an escarpment along the Algeria–Morocco border.

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The unit unconformably overlies Paleozoic marine units of Cambrian, Silurian and Devonian age, and is itself capped by limestone platform rock of Cenomanian-Turonian age. It primarily consists of deltaic deposits. The lower Gara Sbaa Formation primarily consists of fine and medium grained sandstone, while the Douira Formation consists of fining-upwards, coarse-to-fine grained sandstones intercalated with siltstones, variegated mudstones, and occasional thin gypsiferous evaporites.[2]

Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the group.[1] Recent fossil evidence in the form of isolated large abelisaurid bones and comparisons with other similarly aged deposits elsewhere in Africa indicates that the fauna of the Kem Kem Group (specifically in regard to the numerous predatory theropod dinosaurs) may have been mixed together due to the harsh and changing geology of the region when in reality they would likely have preferred separate habitats and likely would be separated by millions of years.[4]

Vertebrate paleofauna

Cartilaginous fish

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Ray-finned fish

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Lobe-finned fish

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Amphibians

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Lizards and snakes

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
More information Lizards and snakes reported from the Continental Red Beds, Genus ...

Plesiosaurs

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Turtles

More information Turtles reported from the Continental Red Beds, Genus ...

Crocodylomorphs

More information Crocodylomorphs reported from the Continental Red Beds, Genus ...

Dinosaurs

Indeterminate lithostrotian remains once misattributed to the Titanosauridae are present in the province of Ksar-es-Souk, Morocco.[1]

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.
More information Dinosaurs reported from the Continental Red Beds, Genus ...

Pterosaurs

More information Pterosaurs of the Kem Kem Beds, Genus ...

See also


References

  1. Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, Africa)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 604-605. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
  2. Ibrahim, N.; Sereno, P.C.; Varricchio, D.J.; Martill, D.M.; Dutheil, D.B.; Unwin, D.M.; Baidder, L.; Larsson, H.C.E.; Zouhri, S.; Kaoukaya, A. (2020). "Geology and paleontology of the Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of eastern Morocco". ZooKeys (928): 1–216. doi:10.3897/zookeys.928.47517. PMC 7188693. PMID 32362741.
  3. Smith, Roy E.; Ibrahim, Nizar; Longrich, Nicholas; Unwin, David M.; Jacobs, Megan L.; Williams, Cariad J.; Zouhri, Samir; Martill, David M. (2023-02-04). "The pterosaurs of the Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of Morocco". PalZ. 97 (3): 519–568. doi:10.1007/s12542-022-00642-6. ISSN 1867-6812. S2CID 256608633.
  4. Smith, Collin (2016-02-29). "Fossil find reveals just how big carnivorous dinosaur may have grown". Imperial News. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  5. Greenfield, T. (2021). "Corrections to the nomenclature of sawskates (Rajiformes, Sclerorhynchoidei)". Bionomina. 22 (1): 39–41. doi:10.11646/bionomina.22.1.3. S2CID 239067365.
  6. Villalobos-Segura, Eduardo; Kriwet, Jürgen; Vullo, Romain; Stumpf, Sebastian; Ward, David J; Underwood, Charlie J (2021-10-01). "The skeletal remains of the euryhaline sclerorhynchoid †Onchopristis (Elasmobranchii) from the 'Mid'-Cretaceous and their palaeontological implications". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 193 (2): 746–771. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa166. ISSN 0024-4082.
  7. Brito, P. M.; Dutheil, D. B.; Gueriau, P.; Keith, P.; Carnevale, G.; Britto, M.; Meunier, F. J.; Khalloufi, B.; King, A.; de Amorim, P. F.; Costa, W. J. E. M. (2024). "A saharan fossil and the dawn of Neotropical armoured catfishes in Gondwana". Gondwana Research. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2024.04.008.
  8. Samuel L.A. Cooper; David M. Martill (2020). "A diverse assemblage of pycnodont fishes (Actinopterygii, Pycnodontomorpha) from the mid-Cretaceous, continental Kem Kem beds of South-East Morocco". Cretaceous Research. 112: Article 104456. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104456. S2CID 216214083.
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  15. Catherine G. Klein; Nicholas R. Longrich; Nizar Ibrahim; Samir Zouhri; David M. Martill (2017). "A new basal snake from the mid-Cretaceous of Morocco" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 72: 134–141. Bibcode:2017CrRes..72..134K. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.12.001.
  16. Bunker, G.; Martill, D. M.; Smith, R.; Zourhi, S.; Longrich, N. (2022). "Plesiosaurs from the fluvial Kem Kem Group (mid-Cretaceous) of eastern Morocco and a review of non-marine plesiosaurs". Cretaceous Research. 140: Article 105310. Bibcode:2022CrRes.14005310B. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105310. S2CID 250964381.
  17. Cecily S. C. Nicholl; Eloise S. E. Hunt; Driss Ouarhache; Philip D. Mannion (2021). "A second peirosaurid crocodyliform from the Mid-Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of Morocco and the diversity of Gondwanan notosuchians outside South America". Royal Society Open Science. 8 (10): Article ID 211254. Bibcode:2021RSOS....811254N. doi:10.1098/rsos.211254. PMC 8511751. PMID 34659786.
  18. Cau, Andrea; Maganuco, Simone (2009). "A new theropod dinosaur, represented by a single unusual caudal vertebra from the Kem Kem Beds (Cretaceous) of Morocco". Atti Soc. it. Sci. nat. Museo civ. Stor. nat. Milano 150 (II): 239–257.
  19. Lio, G., Agnolin, F., Cau, A. and Maganuco, S. (2012). "Crocodyliform affinities for Kemkemia auditorei Cau and Maganuco, 2009, from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco." Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano, 153 (I), s. 119–126.
  20. Jeremy E. Martin; France De Lapparent De Broin (2016). "A miniature notosuchian with multicuspid teeth from the Cretaceous of Morocco" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (6): e1211534. Bibcode:2016JVPal..36E1534M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1211534. S2CID 89354184.
  21. Ute Richter; Alexander Mudroch; Lisa G. Buckley (2013). "Isolated theropod teeth from the Kem Kem Beds (Early Cenomanian) near Taouz, Morocco". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 87 (2): 291–309. doi:10.1007/s12542-012-0153-1. S2CID 129382593.
  22. Hendrickx, C.; Trapman, T. H.; Wills, S.; Holwerda, F. M.; Stein, K. H. W.; Rauhut, O. W. M.; Melzer, R. R.; Van Woensel, J.; Reumer, J. W. F. (2024). "A combined approach to identify isolated theropod teeth from the Cenomanian Kem Kem Group of Morocco: cladistic, discriminant, and machine learning analyses". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 43 (4). e2311791. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2311791.
  23. Robert S.H. Smyth; Nizar Ibrahim; Alexander Kao; David M. Martill (2019). "Abelisauroid cervical vertebrae from the Cretaceous Kem Kem beds of Southern Morocco and a review of Kem Kem abelisauroids". Cretaceous Research. 108: 104330. Bibcode:2020CrRes.10804330S. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104330. S2CID 214136033.
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