Tazoudasaurus
Encyclopedia
Tazoudasaurus is a genus
of vulcanodontid
sauropod dinosaur
hailing from the Early Jurassic
Toundoute overthrust beds located in the High Moroccan
Atlas Mountains
. The remains, consisting of a partial adult skeleton and associated partial juvenile skeleton found in continental detrital sediments, were described by Ronan Allain et al. in early 2004. The generic name derives from one of the localities, Tazouda, while the specific descriptor is a latinization of the Arabic term for "slender" due to the animal’s small size for a sauropod.
Tazoudasaurus, a small sauropod at 9 meters long (30 ft), is characterized by rather primitive features such as the prosauropod-like mandible with spatulate and denticle-bearing teeth, lack of an U-shaped mandibular symphysis
as other more derived sauropods. Teeth wear in V-shaped marks indicates tooth occlusion, suggesting that vulcanodontids processed food orally when feeding. The neck is flexible with elongate vertebrae that lack true pleurocoels while dorsal and caudal vertebrae series tend to be more rigid. T. naimi bears the most complete fossil skeleton for Early Jurassic sauropod remains found to date due to the scarcity of exposed strata of that age. This sauropod is most closely related to Vulcanodon
differing only in caudal vertebrae features while it also possesses characters that place it outside Eusauropoda.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of vulcanodontid
Vulcanodontidae
The Early Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs Zizhongosaurus, Barapasaurus, Tazoudasaurus, and Vulcanodon may form a natural group of basal sauropods called the Vulcanodontidae. Basal vulcanodonts include some of the earliest known examples of sauropods. The family-level name Vulcanodontidae was erected by...
sauropod dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
hailing from the Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period...
Toundoute overthrust beds located in the High Moroccan
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...
Atlas Mountains
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...
. The remains, consisting of a partial adult skeleton and associated partial juvenile skeleton found in continental detrital sediments, were described by Ronan Allain et al. in early 2004. The generic name derives from one of the localities, Tazouda, while the specific descriptor is a latinization of the Arabic term for "slender" due to the animal’s small size for a sauropod.
Tazoudasaurus, a small sauropod at 9 meters long (30 ft), is characterized by rather primitive features such as the prosauropod-like mandible with spatulate and denticle-bearing teeth, lack of an U-shaped mandibular symphysis
Symphysis
A symphysis is a fibrocartilaginous fusion between two bones. It is a type of cartilaginous joint, specifically a secondary cartilaginous joint.1.A symphysis is an amphiarthrosis, a slightly movable joint.2.A growing together of parts or structures...
as other more derived sauropods. Teeth wear in V-shaped marks indicates tooth occlusion, suggesting that vulcanodontids processed food orally when feeding. The neck is flexible with elongate vertebrae that lack true pleurocoels while dorsal and caudal vertebrae series tend to be more rigid. T. naimi bears the most complete fossil skeleton for Early Jurassic sauropod remains found to date due to the scarcity of exposed strata of that age. This sauropod is most closely related to Vulcanodon
Vulcanodon
Vulcanodon was a relatively small early sauropod dinosaur genus from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. About 6.5 metres long, Vulcanodon was herbivorous and had unusually long bones of the first toe and large claws on the inside toes. The type species, V. karibaensis, was formally...
differing only in caudal vertebrae features while it also possesses characters that place it outside Eusauropoda.