Tazoudasaurus
Name:
Tazoudasaurus
(Tazouda lizard).
Phonetic: Ta-zoo-dah-sore-us.
Named By: Ronan Allain, Najat Aquesbi, Jean
Dejax, Christian Meyer, Michel Monbaron, Christian Montenat,
Philippe Richir, Mohammed Rochdy, Dale Russell, Philippe Taquet
& M'ghari Moha - 2004.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda, Vulcanodontidae.
Species: T. naimi (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Roughly about 11 meters long.
Known locations: Morocco - Toundoute Group.
Time period: Pliensbachian to Toarcian of the
Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Partial remains of an adult
and juvenile.
A
close relative to Vulcanodon,
Tazoudasaurus was
quite a bit larger
than its more famous cousin, though still small when compared to many
of the sauropods
of the late Jurassic. Also, although known only
from partial remains, Tazoudasaurus is still
represented by the most
complete early Jurassic sauropod remains known. V-shaped wear
patterns present on the teeth of Tazoudasaurus
indicate that food was
primarily processed when in the mouth, particularly between the teeth
upper and lower teeth which ground against each other.
Tazoudasaurus
was named after the Tazouda locality of Morocco, while the species
name is the latinized version of the Arabic word for slender, a
reference to the lightweight physique of this dinosaur. A possible
predator of Tazoudasaurus could be the theropod
dinosaur
Berberosaurus,
fossils of which have been found nearby the fossils of
Tazoudasaurus.
Further reading
- A basal sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of Morocco -
Ronan Allain, Najat Aquesbi, Jean Dejax, Christian Meyer,
Michel Monbaron, Christian Montenat, Philippe Richir, Mohammed
Rochdy, Dale Russell, Philippe Taquet & M'ghari Moha -
2004.
- Anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Tazoudasaurus
naimi
(Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the late Early Jurassic of Morocco. -
Geodiversitas. 30 (2): 345–424. - Ronan Allain & Najat Aquesbi
- 2008.
- A reconstruction of Tazoudasaurus naimi (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from
the late Early Jurassic of Morocco. - Historical Biology, 22(1-3),
134-141. - K. Peyer & R. Allain - 2010.
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