Rebbachisaurus

Lavocat, 1954 re-BASH-i-SAWR-us

Named for the Aït Rebbach, a Berber tribal group in the Errachidia Province of Morocco near where the fossils were found, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard'; meaning 'Aït Rebbach lizard.'

100.5–93.9 million years ago Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous

Late Cretaceous stages

Rebbachisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Africa during the Late Cretaceous period, between 99 and 97 million years ago. The only valid species is R. garasbae. However, two other species have been assigned to the genus; R. tessonei, now Limaysaurus tessonei, and the nomen dubium R. tamesnensis. Known from a single, incomplete skeleton, much of R. garasbae's anatomy is unknown. The skeleton, discovered in 1948, was unearthed in the Errachidia Province of Morocco from strata of the Kem Kem Beds.

Diagnosis

Mid-to-posterior dorsal vertebrae with an elongate infrazygapophyseal portion of the neural arch, subequal in height to the centrum
Infrazygapophyseal laminae intersecting and passing through the neighboring anterior centroparapophyseal and posterior centrodiapophyseal laminae to form an M shape
Posterior centroparapophyseal lamina oriented nearly horizontally
Ventrolateral margin of the posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina scalloped four times
Lateral edges of the neural spine curling posteriorly, especially toward the summit
Numerous irregular pneumatic foramina in the main axially aligned laminae of the neural spine
Posterior dorsal vertebrae vertically elongated and subequal in length to the scapula
Humeral diaphysis with a nearly flat medial surface

Species

Rebbachisaurus garasbae Lavocat, 1954

Type species

Named for the Gara Sbaa fossil locality in the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco where the holotype was unearthed.

Holotype: MNHN-MRS 1422, MNHN-MRS 1476, MNHN-MRS 1477, MNHN-MRS 1491, MNHN-MRS 1728, MNHN-MRS 1957, MNHN-MRS 1958, MNHN-MRS 1979, MNHN-MRS 1980, MNHN-MRS 1981, MNHN-MRS 1982, MNHN-MRS 1983, MNHN-MRS 1984, MNHN-MRS 1985, MNHN-MRS 1986, MNHN-MRS 1987, MNHN-MRS 1988, MNHN-MRS 1990, MNHN-MRS 1991, MNHN-MRS 1992, MNHN-MRS 1993, MNHN-MRS 1994, MNHN-MRS 1995, MNHN-MRS 1996, MNHN-MRS 1997, MNHN-MRS 1998, MNHN-MRS 1999, MNHN-MRS 2000, MNHN-MRS 2001, MNHN-MRS 2002, MNHN-MRS 2009 , Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
Material: Partial skeleton of one individual comprising a complete posterior dorsal vertebra, further dorsal, sacral and caudal vertebral elements with numerous neural arch fragments, dorsal rib shaft fragments, the right scapula, right humerus, and right ischium.
Notes: Lavocat designated no holotype, which would leave the material Lavocat collected as syntypes, but Wilson and Allain (2015) ascribe every element to one holotype under ICZN Article 73.1.2, on Lavocat's own statement that the remains certainly pertain to a single individual. Several bones Lavocat listed are no longer in the collection, among them four of the six articulated caudal vertebrae, most of the ten dorsal ribs, and one of the two pelvic bones.
Horizon: Gara Sbaa Formation, Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous , 100.5–93.9 million years ago
Locality: southwest foot of Gara Sbaa, Draa-Tafilalet, Morocco

References

Lavocat, R. (1954). Sur les dinosauriens du Continental Intercalaire des Kem-Kem de la Daoura [On the dinosaurs from the Continental Intercalaire of the Kem Kem of the Doura]. Congrés Géologique International, Comptes Rendus de la Dix-Neuvième Session, Section 13 15: 65-68. lavocat1954a
Wilson, J. A.; Allain, R. (2015). Osteology of Rebbachisaurus garasbae Lavocat, 1954, a diplodocoid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the early Late Cretaceous-aged Kem Kem beds of southeastern Morocco. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35(4): e1000701. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.1000701
Osteology of the type material, resolving it as a single holotype and cataloging the elements still held.
wilson2015a
Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.
Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.
jones2026b