5.3" Fossil Theropod Dinosaur Caudal Vertebra - Morocco

Fossil Theropod Dinosaur Caudal Vertebra - Morocco #192543

This is a 5.3" tall caudal vertebra of a theropod (Spinosaurus?) dinosaur. It comes from the Late Cretaceous, Kem Kem Beds of Morocco, home to the meat eating giants, Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus of which this vertebra may have belonged, though proper identification is nearly impossible. There are remnants of the spinous process, while the transverse processes and anterior points of articulation are missing. The anterior and posterior portions of the centrum are heavily weathered, but intact. The neural canal is compressed but still present and complete. There are repaired cracks through the vertebra.

It comes with an acrylic display stand.

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

One of the tunnels dug into the Kem Kem beds by local miners following the productive fossil beds.