Ksar Metlili (KM-A1) (Jurassic to of Morocco)

Also known as Ksar Met-Lili

Where: Figuig, Morocco (32.7° N, 3.2° W: paleocoordinates 25.6° N, 1.6° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Ksar Metlili Formation, Late/Upper Tithonian to Late/Upper Tithonian (150.8 - 140.2 Ma)

• original Fm name "Couches Rouges". Localities KM-A1, A2, B', C, D1 and D2 are fossiliferous loci separated by a few metres in the same calcareous fossiliferous sandstone bed.

Environment/lithology: deltaic; lenticular, fine-grained, medium, red, calcareous sandstone

• The Ksar Metlili Formation was likely deposited in a river-dominated deltaic plain, close to the sea. All the vertebrate-bearing beds sampled in the various KM loci show this kind of transitional facies... The KM microvertebrate lens is intercalated between two marine horizons. There is a mixing of continental (wood, mammals, dinosaurs, etc.), brackish (bivalves) and undisputedly marine (echinoderms, coral, brachiopods, etc.) forms in this horizon, which suggests a near-shore, deltaic depositional environment, probably influenced by eustatic variations.
• The sedimentary facies of the Ksar Metlili Formation are similar to those of the continental lower beds of the Anoual Formation (fine to-medium-grained sandstones, overturned cross-stratifications, ripple marks, root traces).

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collected by Lasseron et al in 2010

Collection methods: bulk, chemical, sieve

Primary reference: M. Lasseron, R. Allain, E. Gheerbrant, H. Haddoumi, N.-E. Jalil, G. Métais, J.-C. Rage, R. Vullo, and S. Zouhri. 2019. New data on the microvertebrate fauna from the Upper Jurassic or lowest Cretaceous of Ksar Metlili (Anoual Syncline, eastern Morocco). Geological Magazine 1-26 [T. Cleary/T. Cleary]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 204918: authorized by Terri Cleary, entered by Terri Cleary on 25.09.2019

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Lasseron et al (2019) mention the new material comprises 24,541 microvertebrate elements. Here I use the number of elements listed for each taxon, which are split between the specimen numbers listed (often 1000+ per specimen number). How these elements are split between specimens can be found in the supp info of Lasseron et al 2019.
Show authors, comments, and common names
Chondrichthyes
 Hybodontiformes - Lonchidiidae
Lonchidion (Lissodus) marocensis
Lonchidion (Lissodus) marocensis Duffin and Sigogneau-Russell 1993 elasmobranch
KM-A1-54, teeth
 Hybodontiformes - Hybodontidae
Egertonodus basanus
Egertonodus basanus Egerton 1845 elasmobranch
KM-A1-44 and KM-A1-45, both teeth
Osteichthyes
 Actinopterygii -
Actinopterygii indet.
Actinopterygii indet. Cope 1887
"diverse elements", no specimen no.s given
Actinopteri
 Ginglymodi -
Ginglymodi indet.
Ginglymodi indet. Cope 1871
KM-A1-41, fin rays; KM-A1-42, teeth; 46, scales; 47, scale; 49, scales; 50, scales
 Teleostei -
? Siluriformes indet., Osteoglossiformes indet.
? Siluriformes indet. catfish
"or ? Polypteriformes", KM-A1-40, fin spine
Osteoglossiformes indet. Berg 1940
no specimen nos in supplementary info
 Neopterygii -
Pycnodontiformes indet.
Pycnodontiformes indet. Berg 1937
KM-A1-58, teeth
Osteichthyes
 Tetrapoda -
Tetrapoda indet.
Tetrapoda indet. Jaekel 1911 tetrapod
KM-A1-52, diverse elements - "Lissamphibia? Squamata?"
Amphibia
 Temnospondyli - Albanerpetontidae
Anoualerpeton unicus
Anoualerpeton unicus Gardner et al. 2003 tetrapod
KM-A1-4, right dentary
 Salientia -
Anura indet.
Anura indet. Fischer von Waldheim 1813 frog
KM-A1-15, dorsal vertebra; KM-A1-51, "diverse elements"
Reptilia
 Squamata -
Squamata indet., Scincomorpha indet.
Squamata indet. squamates
KM-A1-5, dorsal vertebra; KM-A1-6, humerus, 8, dorsal vertebra
Scincomorpha indet. squamates
KM-A1-7, left dentary (fragmentary)
 Pterosauria -
Pterosauria indet.
Pterosauria indet. Kaup 1834 pterosaur
KM-A1-38 to 39, both teeth. Not mentioned in main text but listed in this locality in the supp info
 Dinosauria -
? Dinosauria indet.
? Dinosauria indet. Owen 1842 dinosaur
KM-A1-14, phalanges
 Theropoda -
Theropoda indet.
Theropoda indet. Marsh 1881 theropod
KM-A1-9, claw (pedal?); KM-A1-11, claws; 12 to 13, both teeth; 55, claw (pedal?), 56, claw (ungual?)
 Theropoda - Dromaeosauridae
Dromaeosauridae indet.
Dromaeosauridae indet. Colbert and Russell 1969 maniraptoran
KM-A1-10, tooth
 Loricata -
Crocodylomorpha indet.
Crocodylomorpha indet. Hay 1930 crocodilian
KM-A1-25, osteoderms; KM-A1-26, 27, 30 to 33, 35, all teeth
 Loricata - Atoposauridae
Atoposauridae indet.
Atoposauridae indet. Gervais 1871 crocodilian
KM-A1-28, 29, 34, all teeth
 Loricata - Teleosauridae
Teleosauridae indet.
Teleosauridae indet. Geoffroy 1831 marine crocodile
KM-A1-53, tooth
 Eosuchia -
Sphenodontia indet.
Sphenodontia indet. lepidosaur
no specimen nos in supplementary info
 Choristodera -
Choristodera indet.
Choristodera indet. Cope 1876 choristodere
KM-A1-19, dorsal vertebra
 Testudinata -
Testudinata indet.
Testudinata indet. Oppel 1811 turtle
KM-A1-18, KM-A1-20 to 24, all osteoderms
Mammalia
  -
Mammalia indet., ? Mammalia indet.
Mammalia indet. Linnaeus 1758 mammal
KM-A1-16, incisor tooth; KM-A1-17, left dentary;
? Mammalia indet. Linnaeus 1758 mammal
KM-A1-36, mandibular fragments, -37, phalanx
 Eutriconodonta -
Eutriconodonta indet.
Eutriconodonta indet. Kermack et al. 1973 mammal
KM-A1-3, tooth
 Theriamorpha -
Dryolestoidea indet.
Dryolestoidea indet. Butler 1939 mammal
KM-A1-1, left lower molar
 Dryolestida - Donodontidae
Donodon perscriptoris
Donodon perscriptoris mammal
KM-A1-2, left upper molar
 Symmetrodonta -
"Symmetrodonta" indet.
"Symmetrodonta" indet. symmetrodont
no specimen nos in supplementary info
Osteichthyes
 Dipnoi - Ptychoceratodontidae
cf. Ptychoceratodontidae indet.
cf. Ptychoceratodontidae indet. Martin 1982 lungfish
KM-A1-43, teeth