A new stegosaurian genus and species from the Middle Jurassic epoch has been identified from the postcranial remains found in the Middle Atlas Mountains south of Fès, Morocco.
Thyreosaurus atlasicus lived in northern Africa during the Middle Jurassic epoch, approximately 165 million years ago.
The species is closely related to Dacentrurus, a member of the clade Dacentrurinae within the thyreophoran dinosaur family Stegosauridae.
“Thyreophora is a diverse clade of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs composed of stegosaurs, ankylosaurs, and basal forms,” said Dr. Mostafa Oukassou from the Hassan II University of Casablanca and colleagues.
“Thyreophorans have an extensive fossil record, spanning from the Lower Jurassic to the Upper Cretaceous, which is best known from well-preserved specimens in Laurasia.”
“In contrast, fossil remains are poorly known and mostly partial in Gondwana,” they added.
“In Africa, thyreophorans could have been present since the Early-Middle Jurassic.”
“Stegosaurian body fossils are documented in the Middle Jurassic of Morocco, the Upper Jurassic of Tanzania and the Lower Cretaceous of South Africa.”
“African ankylosaurs are represented only by Spicomellus afer from the Middle Jurassic of Morocco.”
The disarticulated partial skeleton of Thyreosaurus atlasicus was found in the gray marls of the El Mers III Formation in the northern Boulahfa locality, near Boulemane, Middle Atlas of Morocco.
“In 2021, during a geological mapping mission south of Boulemane, we discovered a new site rich in dinosaur remains in the El Mers III Formation,” the paleontologists said.
“This site, named Boulahfa North, is located north of the Boulahfa quarry.”
“The material was collected over several consecutive field trips, and consists of a partial postcranial skeleton of a stegosaur that includes dorsal vertebrae and ribs, a limb bone and dermal armor.”
According to the team, Thyreosaurus atlasicus had an asymetric bizarre…
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