Manemergus
Encyclopedia
Manemergus is a genus of polycotylid
plesiosaur
from the Late Cretaceous
(Turonian
) of Morocco
. Manemergus was described in 2005 and contains only one species, M. anguirostris. The type specimen was discovered close to the town of Goulmima
(Tizi-n-Imnayen) in Morocco's High Atlas
mountains, in the same locality as another polycotylid, Thililua
, was discovered.
Polycotylidae
Polycotylidae is a family of plesiosaurs from the Cretaceous, a sister group to the Leptocleididae.With their short necks and large elongated heads, they resemble the pliosaurs, but closer phylogenetical studies indicate that they share many common features with the plesiosauridae and elasmosauridae...
plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
from the Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
(Turonian
Turonian
The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous series. It spans the time between 93.5 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.3 ± 1 Ma...
) of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Manemergus was described in 2005 and contains only one species, M. anguirostris. The type specimen was discovered close to the town of Goulmima
Goulmima
Goulmima is a berber city in Morocco situated in the province of Errachidia, in the region of Meknès-Tafilalet. An agricultural oasis, it is fed by the Wadi Gheri, from the central High Atlas mountains. Like other settlements in Tafilalet, it was built as a fortified village ksar...
(Tizi-n-Imnayen) in Morocco's High Atlas
High Atlas
High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas Mountains is a mountain range in central Morocco in Northern Africa.The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. At the Atlantic and to the southwest the range drops abruptly...
mountains, in the same locality as another polycotylid, Thililua
Thililua
Thililua is a genus of polycotylid plesiosaur, containing one species, T. longicollis. The name Thililua is derived from that of an ancient aquatic god from local Berber mythology; longicollis refers to the animal's long neck. Thililua has been found in Late Cretaceous rocks in the High Atlas...
, was discovered.