Discovery of an Upper Miocene Vertebrate fauna near Tizi N'Tadderht, Skoura, Ouarzazate Basin (Central High Atlas, Morocco)

Samir Zouhri , Denis Geraads (1) , Siham El Boughabi , Abdelghani El Harfi

1 DEHIPE - Dynamique de l'évolution humaine : individus, populations, espèces [Paris]

The discovery of Upper Miocene vertebrates at Tizi N'Tadderht in the Ouarzazate basin (Morocco) helps to fill a gap in our knowledge of Neogene faunas in North Africa. The new fauna includes an ostrich cf. Struthio sp, a turtle cf. Centrochelys sp., Crocodylus cf. niloticus, and a relatively diverse fauna of large mammals. The mammal assemblage probably includes three hipparion species, including a very small form not previously reported from Africa, aff. Cremohipparion periafricanum, two species of rhinoceros cf. Ceratotherium sp. and aff. Chilotherium sp., a Proboscidean cf. Tetralophodon sp., a large member of the Giraffidae similar to "Palaeotragus" germaini and two bovids of which one is likely related to Prostrepsiceros, while the other is a new medium-sized antelope with spiral horns, certainly a representative of the Caprinae, a group that is rare in Africa. A late Miocene age, corresponding to the European Turolian Mammal age, is most likely for this fauna.

Domaines: Anthropologie biologique

Samir Zouhri, Denis Geraads, Siham El Boughabi, Abdelghani El Harfi. Discovery of an Upper Miocene Vertebrate fauna near Tizi N'Tadderht, Skoura, Ouarzazate Basin (Central High Atlas, Morocco). Comptes Rendus. Palevol, 2012, 11 (6), pp.455-461. ⟨10.1016/j.crpv.2012.01.005⟩. ⟨hal-00846734⟩