Morocco 2004 "Dinosaur of Tazouda (Ouarzazate)"
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| Issue Date | 12.07.2004 |
| ID | Michel: 1458; Scott: 973; Stanley Gibbons: 1086; Yvert: Category: pR |
| Designe | M. Fontaine |
| Stamps in set | 1 |
| Value | 6.50 MAD - Tazoudasaurus naimi |
| Emission/Type | commemorative |
| Issue place | Rabat |
| Size (width x height) | 40mm x 30 mm |
| Layout | 25 stamps per sheet |
| Products | FDC x 1 |
| Paper | |
| Perforation | 13,25 x 13,25 |
| Print Technique | Photogravure, multicolor |
| Printed by | ITVF Périgeux - France |
| Quantity | |
| Issuing Authority | Barid Al-Maghrib |
On July 12th, 2004, the Post Authority of Morocco, Barid Al-Maghrib, issued the stamp to commemorate a newly discovered dinosaur genus: Tazoudasaurus. Fossils of Tazoudasaurus were discovered in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco in North Africa and it is one of the oldest sauropod dinosaur fossils, aged about 180 million years.
At least eight individuals of different sizes have been discovered at the site, suggesting that the earliest sauropods already lived in herds.
Tazoudasaurus is a genus of vulcanodontid sauropod dinosaur hailing from the Early Jurassic - a small sauropod at 9 meters long, it is characterized by rather primitive features such as the prosauropod-like mandible with spatulate and denticle-bearing teeth, lack of an U-shaped mandibular symphysis as other more derived sauropods. Teeth wear in V-shaped marks indicates tooth occlusion, suggesting that vulcanodontids processed food orally when feeding. The neck was flexible with elongate vertebrae that lack true pleurocoels while dorsal and caudal vertebrae series tend to be more rigid. Tazoudasaurus naimi bears the most complete fossil skeleton for Early Jurassic sauropod remains found to date due to the scarcity of exposed strata of that age. This sauropod is most closely related to Vulcanodon differing only in caudal vertebrae features while it also possesses characters that place it outside Eusauropoda.
The remains, consisting of a partial adult skeleton and associated partial juvenile skeleton found in continental detrital sediments by a team of international paleontologists, from the north African Kingdom, France, Switzerland and the United States, headed by Frenchman Philippe Taquet, in Tazouda, 70 kilometres from Ouarzazate in southe-astern Morocco, were described by Ronan Allain et al. in early 2004.
The generic name derives from one of the localities, Tazouda, while the specific descriptor is a Latinization of the Arabic term for "slender" due to the animal's small size for a sauropod.
Officially named "Tazoudasaurus naimi", the newly discovered creature is key to understanding the evolutionary process of large vertebrates, said Philippe Taquet, head of the Natural History Museum in Paris.
Aware of the richness of the deposit, the Moroccan authorities and the scientific community have built a site museum, the "Dinosaur Museum" at the top of the hill where the excavations took place. In addition to its scientific interest, this museum aims to safeguard the regional geological heritage and stimulate local economic activity with a view to sustainable development of the region.
Products and associated philatelic items
| FDC | Stamp Sheets | Examples of circulated covers |
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References
Acknowledgements:
- Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his valuable comments.
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