It is at the heart of Middle Atlasnear Boulemane, that Three fossilized teeth have just turned the card of the African Jurassic upside down. Dated to the Bathonian (average Jurassic, around 168 million years), they were exhumed from the formation of El Mers III, a geological layer already famous for having delivered the oldest ankylosaur known in the world (spicomellus afer) and two species of stegosaurs.
The study, published on August 7, 2025 in Acta Polish Polish By an international team bringing together Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University of Fez, the Natural History Museum in London and the University of Birmingham, demonstrates that these teeth belong to Turiasaures. This group of Sauropods, recognizable by its heart -shaped teeth, was so far known in Africa only by more recent fossils found in Madagascar and Tanzania.
The three specimens measure between 53 mm et 71,3 mm Long, with a crown 15.6 mm wide to 28.6 mm. Their enamel, pleated and without denticles, perfectly corresponds to the characteristics of this clade. According to the researchers, it is the oldest recording in Turiasaures on The continental African continent and the first certain proof of their presence in Morocco.
Discovered by a local farmer on the plain of Boulahfathe fossils were found near the bones of large members, unfortunately covered by more than 5 meters of sediment after a lightning flood. The area, made up of green marls in the lower part and red-violet marls in the upper part, is known to deliver fossils thanks to these episodes of brutal erosion.
For the authors, this discovery shows that the Turiasaures had already reached North Africa to the average Jurassic, extending their area known far beyond Europe and Madagascar. It also confirms the exceptional potential of Middle Atlas To enlighten the beginnings of Large dinosaur groupsat a time still little documented worldwide.