PREDATORY DINOSAURS FROM THE SAHARA AND LATE CRETACEOUS FAUNAL DIFFERENTIATION

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) fossils discovered in the Kem Kem region of Morocco include large predatory dinosaurs that inhabited Africa as it drifted into geographic isolation. One, represented by a skull appr oximately 1.6 meters in length, is an advanced allosauroid referable t o the African genus Carcharodontosaurus. Another, represented by a par tial skeleton with slender proportions, is a new basal coelurosaur clo sely resembling the Egyptian genus Bahariasaurus. Comparisons with Cre taceous theropods from other continents reveal a previously unrecogniz ed global radiation of carcharodontosaurid predators, Substantial geog raphic differentiation of dinosaurian faunas in response to continenta l drift appears to have arisen abruptly at the beginning of the Late C retaceous.