Le Sahel: “Un patrimonie a preserver” - August 17, 2000

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The people who live along the Falaise de Tiguidi know the territory well – they know each kori, each pasture and every hill. They have known for a long time about the bones of giants preserved in the earth.

E. Chudeau, a geologist working south of Marandet was the first, in 1907, to identify these fossils as dinosaur bones.

The study of paleontology is the study of ancient life. The work of paleontologists can shed light on the history of life on earth, evolution, - and the death and fossilization of dinosaurs and the plants and animals that lived alongside them.

Paleontologists know very little about the dinosaurs of Africa – what did they look like? How are they related to dinosaurs in other parts of the world? The rocks of Niger – and the fossils found here - uniquely preserve the history of dinosaur evolution on Africa.

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The rocks around Marandet and InGall are very old. They were laid down by rivers more than 100 million years ago. At that time the environment looked very different than it does today. Broad rivers were inhabited by crocodiles, turtles and many kinds of fish. On land, tall forests grew and many plant and meat-eating dinosaurs roamed. The weather was hot and humid without distinct seasons.

Some of these plants and animals were buried in the rivers and during floods. Over the course of time, they were fossilized and became as hard as the rock they were preserved in.

Our understanding of what this ancient world was like come directly from the rocks and fossils in the area surrounding InGall and Marandet.

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The best known ancient animals from this area are dinosaurs. Two species – Jobaria tiguidensis and Afrovenator abakensis - have been studied and named. A third, discovered in October 2000, is currently being studied. These three dinosaurs were discovered by expedition teams led by University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno

The most common dinosaur in the region around InGall and Marandet, Jobaria tiguidensis, was discovered by the team of the 1993 Expedition to Niger, led by University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno. Named after the mythical Touareg beast, “jobar,” and the “Tiguidi” cliff, Jobaria belongs to a group of long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs called sauropods. Sauropods are the largest land animals ever to have walked the earth.

Jobaria grew to 20 meters in length and weighed approximately 20 tons. It was a plant-eater with spoon-shaped teeth for nipping leaves. Although paleontologists are not certain, a site preserving multiple skeletons discovered near InGall suggests Jobaria may have traveled in herds.

Jobaria is unique to Africa and is found nowhere else in the world. The quality and completeness of Jobaria skeletons from this area make Jobaria one of the best-known sauropods in the world.

A life-sized replica of the skeleton of Jobaria in all its grandeur is on display in Niamey.

Living alongside Jobaria was a rare 9-meter-long predatory dinosaur named Afrovenator. (Afro=African; “venator” = hunter). The skeleton of Afrovenator was discovered by the 1993 Niger Expedition team led by Paul Sereno near InAbaka.

Afrovenator walked on two legs, had a long tail, and sharp, curved teeth. Afrovenator’s skull is nearly a meter long and its long hind limbs suggest it was a fast predator. Teeth marks found on the bones of Jobaria suggest Afrovenator likely preyed on the large plant-eating Jobaria.

Afrovenator is unique to Africa – and is found nowhere else in the world. A life-sized replica of the skeleton of Afrovenator is on exhibit at the National Museum of Niamey.

In addition to Jobaria and Afrovenator, the team of the 2000 Expedition to Niger led by Paul Sereno discovered a dog-sized, armored plant-eating dinosaur while working south of Marandet. This rare dinosaur may be a distant relative of famous North American armored dinosaurs like Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus.

Other animals also lived in and along the ancient rivers during the time of the dinosaurs. Their fossils are more rare. One can find fossils of bivalve mollusks, crocodiles, turtles and many kinds of fish.

135 million years ago, the area around Marandet and InGall was much wetter. Tall trees grew in forests. A sample of petrified wood from this area was magnified under a microscope at the University of Chicago in the United States to look for growth rings. Magnification showed only circular cells without any indication of growth rings suggesting the environment was warm with minor changes in temperature.

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History of Dinosaur Discoveries in Niger

1906 R. Chudeau is the first geologist to note dinosaur remains in Niger

1954 Huges Faure makes a geologic map of Eastern Niger, during which he discovers dinosaur remains which he sends to A. F. Lapparent – the then French dinosaur specialist.

1958 Uranium prospection by CEA (Center of Atomic Study) discovers the important site of Gadoufaoua

1960 A description of dinosaur remains in Niger is included in a memoir about North African dinosaurs by A. F. de Lapparent

1964 Phillippe Taquet, Natural History Museum of Paris, makes a series of expeditions over one decade that focus on Gadoufaoua. In 1966 Taquet describes a new species plant-eating dinosaur named Ouranosaurus nigeriensis, currently on display in the National Museum of Niamey.

1993 An expedition team led by Paul Sereno, paleontologist at the University of Chicago, begin new research in the InGall area

1994 A paper is published in Science Sereno and colleagues describing Afrovenator abakensis (the “African hunter) - an new species of carnivorous dinosaur

1997 An expedition led by Paul Sereno, paleontologist at the University of Chicago return to Niger to conduct further research in InGall, Marandet and Gadoufaoua. Sereno returns Afrovenator fossils and presents Niger with a life-sized copy of the skeleton of Afrovenator, which is currently on display in the National Museum of Niamey.

1998 A paper is published by Sereno and colleagues in Science describing Suchomimus, (the “crocodile mimic”) a new carnivorous dinosaur from Gadoufaoua

1999 A paper is published in Science Sereno and colleagues describing two long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs from Niger – one from the InGall region and one from Gadoufaoua

2000 Sereno returns the fossils of Suchomimus and Jobaria and presents Niger with life-sized copies of each of the skeletons. A team led by Sereno discovers a new species of armored, plant eating dinosaur north of Marandet.

What is a paleontologist?

A paleontologist is someone who studies ancient plants and animals – including dinosaurs.

A dinosaur is an ancient reptile. Dinosaurs lived for more than 150 million years and inhabited every continent. Dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago. However, birds are descendents of dinosaurs. The word dinosaur means “terrible lizard.”

People learn about dinosaurs from their fossilized remains, including: fossil bones, footprints, fossilized dinosaur eggs, and fossil teeth.

Some dinosaurs (carnivores) ate meat. Some dinosaurs (herbivores) ate plants.

No. Dinosaurs went extinct nearly 60 million years before humans evolved. Dinosaurs and humans never lived at the same time, so dinosaurs could not have eaten humans.

They are approximately 135 million years old.

Dinosaurs lived on different continents at different time periods. Until recently very little was known about dinosaurs on Africa. African dinosaurs are unique and are not found anywhere else. Similarly dinosaurs from other continents (such as Tyrannosaurus, which is from North America) are not found here in Niger.

No. The fossil-bearing rocks around Marandet and InGall are expansive and new fossils are exposed as rock is eroded by time, sand and water. There is much more paleontological and geological work that needs to be done.

You can talk with the people of the area, visit the National Museum in Niamey or contact Project Exploration - an non-profit educational organization in Chicago - via the internet at www.projectexploration.org.