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The geological and paleoenvironmental setting and the vertebrate taxonomy of the fossiliferous, Cenomanian- age deltaic sediments in eastern Morocco, generally referred to as the "Kem Kem beds", are reviewed. These strata are recognized here as the Kem Kem Group, which is composed of the lower Gara Sbaa and upper Douira formations. Both formations have yielded a similar fossil vertebrate assemblage of predominantly isolated elements pertaining to cartilaginous and bony fishes, turtles, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs, as well as invertebrate, plant, and trace fossils. These fossils, now in collections around the world, are reviewed and tabulated. The Kem Kem vertebrate fauna is biased toward largebodied carnivores including at least four large-bodied non-avian theropods (an abelisaurid, Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Deltadromeus), several large-bodied pterosaurs, and several large crocodyliforms. No comparable modern terrestrial ecosystem exists with similar bias toward large-bodied carnivores. The Kem Kem vertebrate assemblage, currently the best documented association just prior to the onset of the Cenomanian-Turonian marine transgression, captures the taxonomic diversity of a widespread northern African fauna better than any other contemporary assemblage from elsewhere in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe an extensive ichnofossil assemblage from the likely Cenomanian-age ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ units of the ‘Kem Kem beds’ in southeastern Morocco. In the lower unit, trace fossils include narrow vertical burrows in cross-bedded sandstones and borings in dinosaur bone, with the latter identified as the insect ichnotaxon Cubiculum ornatus. In the upper unit, several horizons preserve abundant footprints from theropod dinosaurs. Sauropod and ornithischian footprints are much rarer, similar to the record for fossil bone and teeth in the Kem Kem assemblage. The upper unit also preserves a variety of invertebrate traces including Conichnus (the resting trace of a sea-anemone), Scolicia (a gastropod trace), Beaconites (a probable annelid burrow), and subvertical burrows likely created by crabs for residence and detrital feeding on a tidal flat. The ichnofossil assemblage from the Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem beds contributes evidence for a transition from predominantly terrestrial to marine deposition. Body fossil and ichnofossil records together provide a detailed view of faunal diversity and local conditions within a fluvial and deltaic depositional setting on the northwestern coast of Africa toward the end of the Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A single crown of sawfish rostral ‘tooth’ with at least two barbs along its posterior margin is comparable with Onchopristis dunklei from the Woodbine Formation of Texas and Atlanticopristis equatorialis from the Alcântara Formation of Brazil. However, it is regarded here as an aberrant Onchopristis numidus, the typical form from North Africa. An aberrant morph of O. numidus is considered pathological. The taxonomic utility of barb number in pristid rostral ‘teeth’ is discussed. The genus and species Australopristis wiffeni gen. et sp. nov is erected to accommodate some multi-cusped rostral teeth from the Late Cretaceous of New Zealand. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Laminated, dolomitised marine limestones within a transgressive fluvio-lagoonal-carbonate platform sequence at Gara Sbaa in the Kem Kem region of south eastern Morocco yield well preserved marine fishes and crustaceans. A rarer terrestrial component includes delicate fern fronds, insects and a lizard. Sedimentological structures and stratigraphic context indicate initial shallow waters with in a carbonate lagoon with benthic microbial mats followed by deepening. High precision dating has yet to be accomplished, but a Late Cenomanian or Early Turonian age is indicated on the basis of faunal and sequence-stratigraphic considerations. The fish assemblage has affinities with mid-Cretaceous ichthyofaunas in South America and Lebanon, including taxa in common at generic level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Kem Kem beds in South Eastern Morocco contain a rich early Upper (or possibly late Lower) Cretaceous vertebrate assemblage. Fragmentary remains, predominantly teeth and jaw tips, represent several kinds of pterosaur although only one species, the ornithocheirid Coloborhynchus moroccensis, has been named. Here, we describe a new azhdarchid pterosaur, Alanqa saharica nov. gen. nov. sp., based on an almost complete well preserved mandibular symphysis from Aferdou N'Chaft. We assign additional fragmentary jaw remains, some of which have been tentatively identified as azhdarchid and pteranodontid, to this new taxon which is distinguished from other azhdarchids by a remarkably straight, elongate, lance-shaped mandibular symphysis that bears a pronounced dorsal eminence near the posterior end of its dorsal (occlusal) surface. Most remains, including the holotype, represent individuals of approximately three to four meters in wingspan, but a fragment of a large cervical vertebra, that probably also belongs to A. saharica, suggests that wingspans of six meters were achieved in this species. The Kem Kem beds have yielded the most diverse pterosaur assemblage yet reported from Africa and provide the first clear evidence for the presence of azhdarchids in Gondwana at the start of the Late Cretaceous. This, the relatively large size achieved by Alanqa, and the additional evidence of variable jaw morphology in azhdarchids provided by this taxon, indicates a longer and more complex history for this clade than previously suspected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]