The First Silesaurid Dinosauriform from the Late Triassic of Morocco

2011/07/11 by Christian F. Kammerer, Sterling J. Nesbitt, Neil H. Shubin · 7 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Ichthyology and Marine Biology

paper · pdf · doi:10.4202/app.2011.0015

openalex publication_date 2011/07/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/20

Abstract

Disarticulated material from the Late Triassic Timezgadiouine Formation in the Argana Basin of Morocco represents a new taxon of silesaurid dinosauromorph, Diodorus scytobrachion gen. et sp. nov. D. scytobrachion can be distinguished from other silesaurids by the presence of anteriorly-canted teeth that decrease in size towards the anterior end of the dentary and a distinct lateral ridge running parallel to the dentary alveolar margin. In a phylogenetic analysis, D. scytobrachion is recovered as the sister-taxon to the Brazilian Sacisaurus agudoensis, nested deep within Silesauridae. This new taxon provides further evidence of a near-cosmopolitan range for basal dinosauriforms in the Late Triassic and further demonstrates the disparity of dental morphologies within Silesauridae.

Citations

• TNT, a free program for phylogenetic analysis
• Early ornithischian dinosaurs: the Triassic record
• Synopsis of the Extinct Batrachia, Reptilia and Aves of North America

Cited by

• Anatomy, phylogeny and palaeobiology of early archosaurs and their kin
• The Late Triassic dinosauromorph Sacisaurus agudoensis (Caturrita Formation; Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil): anatomy and affinities
• Review of the fossil record of early dinosaurs from South America, and its phylogenetic implications
• The Late Triassic Ischigualasto Formation at Cerro Las Lajas (La Rioja, Argentina): fossil tetrapods, high-resolution chronostratigraphy, and faunal correlations
• A paraphyletic ‘Silesauridae' as an alternative hypothesis for the initial radiation of ornithischian dinosaurs
• The origin of Pterosaurs
• Sacisaurus [wikipedia]