Libyan spinosaurs and the stratigraphical distribution of African spinosaurids.

1. Libyan spinosaurs and the stratigraphical distribution of African spinosaurids. Jean Le Loeuff & Eddy Métais

2. The problem of the « Continental intercalaire »

3. Spinosaurus aegyptiacus Stromer 1915 Spinosaurinae Bahariya, Egypt ?Early Cenomanian

5. Suchomimus tenerensis Sereno et al., 1998 Baryonychinae Gadoufaoua, Niger ?Aptian (Taquet, 1976) or ?Albian (Sereno, 1998) or (more likely) undated No stratigraphical data

6. Phylogeny of the Spinosauridae (Sereno et al., 1998)

8. Main Early Cretaceous vertebrate localities in Libya Tripoli Garian Yefren Wazzin Jannawan Jawsh Nalut Tendamirah

11. Earlier discoveries 1951 – Lapparent (dinosaur bones) 2001 – Duffin (Priohybodus), Cabao Formation 2006– Smith & Dalla Vecchia (abelisaurid tooth), Cabao Formation Priohybodus (from Duffin, 2001)

12. ?Camarasaurid, Cabao Formation (Le Loeuff et al., 2010)

13. Baryonychinae, Cabao Formation (Le Loeuff et al., 2010)

14. 7/8 serrations/mm Cf. Baryonyx Suchomimus Tooth from Libya

15. The first dinosaur tooth from the Kiklah Formation

16. Cf. Spinosaurus, Chenini Formation, Tunisia

18. AFRICAN SPINOSAURS Cenomanian Albian Aptian Barremian Hauterivian Valanginian Berriasian Late Jurassic Kem Kem beds, Morocco Baharija, Egypt Chenini Formation, Tunisia Kiklah Formation, Libya Cabao Formation, Libya El Rhaz Formation, Niger Koum Formation, Cameroon Continental intercalaire Tendaguru beds, Tanzania

19. CONCLUSIONS • Baryonychine spinosaurids are ante-Aptian in Africa, whereas spinosaurine spinosaurids are Late Aptian to Early Cenomanian • The El Rhaz Formation from Niger and the Koum Formation of Cameroon are most probably ante-Aptian in age (?Barremian). • Fossil vertebrate assemblages have a strong potential for correlations across the « Continental intercalaire » in North and western Africa.