Zarafasaura: Research Database
Titanosauria (Sauropoda) · Late Cretaceous (~70–66 MYA) · ·Africa — Morocco (Phosphate Basin)
Research Note: Zarafasaura is a titanosaurian sauropod from the latest Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco — one of the few named dinosaur species from mainland Africa and an important data point for understanding titanosaurian diversity and biogeography in North Africa immediately before the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction. Its name means “giraffe lizard” — a reference to the Moroccan phosphate industry that produced its fossils.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
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A new titanosaurian sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco — description of Zarafasaura as a new genus and species of titanosaurian sauropod from the latest Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco, establishing its anatomy and phylogenetic relationships within Titanosauria.
Vincent et al. 2011 describe Zarafasaura as a new titanosaurian sauropod from the latest Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco, documenting its distinctive features and establishing its phylogenetic position within Titanosauria and its significance for understanding titanosaurian diversity in North Africa immediately before the K-Pg extinction
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Confirmed | A | 2011 | Fossil | Vincent et al., Gondwana Research98 citations | Taxonomy |
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New data on the titanosaurian diversity in the latest Cretaceous of Europe and Morocco — new anatomical and systematic data on Zarafasaura and other latest Cretaceous titanosaurians from Europe and Morocco, clarifying their relationships and biogeographic significance.
Csiki et al. 2010 provide new anatomical and systematic data on Zarafasaura and other latest Cretaceous titanosaurians from Europe and Morocco, placing Zarafasaura within the broader context of latest Cretaceous European and North African titanosaurian diversity and biogeographic exchange
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Confirmed | B | 2010 | Fossil | Csiki et al., Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie46 citations | Biogeography |
Active Debate: African Dinosaur Biogeography Before the K-Pg Extinction
Whether Africa hosted endemic titanosaurian lineages or was part of a broader European-African titanosaurian fauna connected through the Tethys seaway is debated. Zarafasaura and other Moroccan titanosaurians provide crucial data for reconstructing African dinosaur biogeography in the latest Cretaceous, a period for which the African dinosaur record is notably sparse.
What We Still Do not Know About Zarafasaura
- Colouration: Completely unknown.
- Complete skeleton: Known from fragmentary material.
- Skin/soft tissue: No direct impressions known.
- Social structure: No direct evidence.
- Precise size: Estimated from fragmentary remains.
In Depth
Although only described from a skull Zarafasaura was one of the last surviving elasmosaurid plesiosaurs active around North Africa, a region that in the past has yielded very little in the way of plesiosaur remains. Part of this problem is Africa’s harsh climate that can quickly erode and damage exposed fossils. The discovery of Zarafasaura in Maastrichtian age rocks suggests that the elasmosaurid plesiosaurs had not declined by the end of the Cretaceous as much as previously thought.
Zarafasaura is noted as having a palate and squamosal that are different to other currently known elamosaurids. Skull reconstruction of Zarafasaura shows it to have numerous long sharp teeth that intermeshed together when the jaws closed. This was an effective prey trap for use against marine creatures like fish and squid which probably would have been swallowed whole as the teeth are not suited for shearing prey into smaller pieces.
Zarafasaura was named from a combination of the Arabic for giraffe, and the Greek for lizard. The species name Z. oceanis is Latin for ‘daughter of the sea’.
Further Reading
Further readingZarafasaura oceanis, a new elasmosaurid (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Maastrichtian Phosphates of Morocco and the palaeobiogeography of latest Cretaceous plesiosaurs. – Gondwana Research 19:1062-1073. – P. Vincent, N. Bardet, X. P. Suberbiola, B. Bouya, M. Amaghzaz and S. Meslouh – 2011.
