Ksar Metlili (KM-D1) (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 204979: authorized by Terri Cleary, entered by Terri Cleary on 02.10.2019

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
Osteichthyes
 Actinopterygii -
Actinopterygii indet.
Actinopterygii indet. Cope 1887
KM-D1-24, "diverse elements"
Actinopteri
 Teleostei -
? Siluriformes indet.
? Siluriformes indet. catfish
"or ?Polypteriformes". KM-D1-19, fin spines
 Neopterygii -
Pycnodontiformes indet.
Pycnodontiformes indet. Berg 1937
KM-D1-23, teeth
 Ginglymodi -
Ginglymodi indet.
Ginglymodi indet. Cope 1871
KM-D1-21, teeth
Osteichthyes
 Dipnoi - Ptychoceratodontidae
cf. Ptychoceratodontidae indet.
cf. Ptychoceratodontidae indet. Martin 1982 lungfish
KM-D1-20, teeth
Amphibia
 Salientia -
Anura indet.
Anura indet. Fischer von Waldheim 1813 frog
KM-D1-25, long bones
Reptilia
 Squamata -
Squamata indet.
Squamata indet. squamates
KM-D1-5, dorsal vertebra; KM-D1-26, vertebrae
 Choristodera -
Choristodera indet.
Choristodera indet. Cope 1876 choristodere
KM-D1-18, vertebrae
 Theropoda -
Theropoda indet.
Theropoda indet. Marsh 1881 theropod
KM-D1-9, teeth
 Theropoda - Dromaeosauridae
Dromaeosauridae indet.
Dromaeosauridae indet. Colbert and Russell 1969 maniraptoran
KM-D1-6, tooth
 Loricata -
Crocodylomorpha indet.
Crocodylomorpha indet. Hay 1930 crocodilian
KM-D1-7 and 8, both single teeth; KM-D1-11, osteoderms; 12, dorsal vertebra; 13, scapula/coracoid; 14-16, all teeth
 Loricata - Atoposauridae
Atoposauridae indet.
Atoposauridae indet. Gervais 1871 crocodilian
KM-D1-17, teeth
 Testudinata -
Testudinata indet.
Testudinata indet. Oppel 1811 turtle
KM-D1-10, osteoderms
Mammalia
  -
Mammalia indet.
Mammalia indet. Linnaeus 1758 mammal
KM-D1-1, tooth; KM-D1-2, canine; 3, incisor teeth. Not mentioned in main text.
 Dryolestoidea - Dryolestidae
Dryolestidae indet.
Dryolestidae indet. Marsh 1879 mammal
Not mentioned in supplement; maybe some of the mammal specimens below?
 Eutriconodonta -
Eutriconodonta indet.
Eutriconodonta indet. Kermack et al. 1973 mammal
Not mentioned in supplement; maybe some of the mammal specimens below?
Chondrichthyes
 Hybodontiformes - Hybodontidae
Egertonodus sp.
Egertonodus sp. Maisey 1987 elasmobranch
"Egertonodus basanus" in text, "Egertonodus sp." in supplement. KM-D1-22, teeth