Afrotapejara: an African tapejarid from Morocco

Afrotapejara zouhrii is known from the front of a skull found in Morocco's Kem Kem Group. Its holotype preserves a toothless upper-jaw fragment and the base of a bony crest, enough to document a tapejarid pterosaur in Africa. It does not preserve the whole skull or the full shape of the crest. The genus expanded the known geography of Tapejaridae, previously represented especially well in South America and China. Its profile belongs in the pterosaur catalogue alongside other fragmentary forms from the Cretaceous.

Quick facts

African evidence for Tapejaridae

David Martill and colleagues described Afrotapejara zouhrii in 2020. The species honours Moroccan palaeontologist Samir Zouhri. Its holotype, FSAC-KK 5004, is held at Hassan II University in Casablanca. The specimen is an incomplete front portion of the upper jaw: the very tip is missing, while the base of a median bony crest remains. Two other snout fragments with similar features were also referred to the genus.

The material comes from the Kem Kem Group in south-eastern Morocco, usually assigned to the Albian–Cenomanian interval. The rocks preserve river systems and a diverse fauna from a region near the ancient coast. Kem Kem pterosaur fossils are often isolated, and some specimens reached collections without detailed quarry records. Such limits make it important to distinguish the diagnostic holotype from bones associated mainly by resemblance or broad provenance.

A short, toothless rostrum

The preserved snout is high and lacks teeth. Its upper margin rises sharply toward the base of the crest. Small openings for vessels and nerves mark the side of the bone, and a median elevation is visible on the palate. The combination of these features supported its identification as a distinct tapejarid rather than simply another isolated fragment of a crested pterosaur.

Only the lower base of the crest survives. The complete height, outline and any soft-tissue covering are unknown. Reconstructions that show a tall sail above the head draw on better-known relatives such as Sinopterus and Huaxiapterus; they do not reproduce a crest preserved in full for Afrotapejara. The rest of the skull, wing bones and body have not been found with the type.

The original phylogenetic analysis placed the animal in Tapejaridae. That assignment is supported mainly by the preserved rostrum. A later review of the Kem Kem assemblage confirmed that several major pterosaur lineages were present, while also stressing the problems of measuring diversity from isolated jaw pieces. More complete material could refine both the family placement and the comparisons within it.

Size and possible food

The incomplete snout cannot be used to measure wingspan directly. A scale estimate would depend on comparisons with more complete tapejarids and should be treated as approximate. It is safer to describe the known animal as a pterodactyloid of moderate size than to attach a precise span to it. The full wing proportions and body outline are not known.

Fruit, seeds and other plant material have often been proposed as food for tapejarids. The short, toothless beak of Afrotapejara is compatible with several ways of handling food, but it does not establish herbivory. No gut contents, coprolite, bite trace or associated plant food is known for this genus. A varied diet remains possible, and exact feeding behaviour cannot be read from the jaw alone.

The fossils establish an African tapejarid with a high toothless snout and the base of a bony crest. They leave the crest's complete outline, wingspan, colour, diet and way of life open. An illustration can show a plausible tapejarid, but the distinctions between preserved anatomy and comparative reconstruction should remain visible in any account.