What do researchers learn from dinosaur teeth in North Africa?

By: Femke Holwerda

MOMENT extinct dinosaurs, Spinosaurus it is one of the best known: a predator with sharp claws, a long jaw full of teeth and a large sail on its back. They lived near rivers and fished 100 million years ago in what is now a desert; Kem Kem Letti, a geological formation in North Africa.

Just like Spinosaurus, the life of most of the fossilized dinosaurs in the area was supported by the surrounding river.

Animal and fish remains that resemble crocodiles are the most common fossils found, especially in sediments from Morocco, Algeria and Egypt. This ecosystem supported a large community of predatory dinosaurs that ate meat or fish, and a minority of them were plant eaters.

Spinosaurus and its carnivorous relatives have received a lot of scientific attention. However, some of these plant-eating communities have not been widely highlighted.

I just posted an article on African Journal of Earth Sciences who collected all the artifacts of plant-eating (herbivorous) and long-necked dinosaurs, called sauropods, from the Lower Cretaceous period in North Africa.

Read also: The study reveals how the world’s largest carnivorous dinosaur spinosaurus lived

Most of the fossils found are teeth. In addition to telling us about the types of animals, what they ate and whether their position has changed over time, the teeth also provide information to reconstruct the complete paleoecosystems.

Further research resulting from the discovery of these teeth will allow us to better understand how different species coexist and their position in the food chain.

Trace your teeth

Unfortunately, this sauropod fossil is rare. For every sauropod tooth found, about 30 dinosaur teeth predators (theropods) were found. This imbalance between carnivores and herbivores remains inexplicable and may have something to do with river ecosystems favoring fish-eaters and other carnivorous animals over plant-eaters.