Tazoudasaurus

Tazouda lizard

• Tazouda · Berber/Arabic place name · the village of Tazouda in Morocco, near the fossil site
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines Tazouda, the village near the fossil site in the High Atlas of Morocco, with the Greek word for lizard. It was chosen to mark the locality where the first bones were found. The type species is Tazoudasaurus naimi.

Named by

Allain et al.

Year named

2004

Period

Early Jurassic

Stage

Toarcian

Found in

Toundoute Continental Series, near Tazouda, Ouarzazate region, Morocco

A basal sauropod (close to the origin of true eusauropods), known from fairly complete skeletal material including skull elements, which makes it important for understanding early sauropod evolution.