Rabat – In the heart of central Morocco, near the phosphate-rich lands of the Oulad Abdoun Basin, scientists have uncovered a new species of duck-billed dinosaur that deepens our understanding of life just before the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Named Taleta taleta, this plant-eating creature once roamed the region some 66 million years ago, during the final moments of the Cretaceous period.
The discovery, published in Gondwana Research, introduces the third known hadrosaurid species found in Morocco, following Ajnabia odysseus and Minqaria bata.
The name Taleta, meaning “three” in Arabic, reflects its place in this growing lineage. But this new find is more than a numerical addition, it tells a broader story about biodiversity, survival, and movement in a world on the verge of transformation.
Fossils of Taleta taleta, unearthed from ancient phosphate deposits, include two partial jawbones that reveal significant differences from its relatives.
The species had larger teeth and a distinct jaw structure, suggesting it fed on different vegetation. This detail hints at a rapid diversification of hadrosaurids after their arrival in North Africa. Each species appears to have carved out a unique ecological niche.
This unexpected variety challenges long-standing assumptions about prehistoric geography. At the time, the Earth resembled a broken map, with shallow seas separating landmasses.
A quiet sense of wonder
Many researchers believed such fragmentation would trap species within continents. Yet the presence of hadrosaurids in Morocco points to movement across water, possibly from southern Europe during temporary sea retreats or through island chains that once dotted the seascape. Taleta taleta strengthens the idea that dinosaurs found ways to spread and adapt even in a fragmented world.
The discovery also carries a quiet sense of wonder. The phosphate beds of the Oulad Abdoun Basin, dusty and dry today, once held thriving ecosystems. They now guard some of the best-preserved fossils from the Late Cretaceous. Every bone pulled from this earth brings a glimpse of a world that vanished long ago.
With Taleta taleta, Morocco adds a new voice to the ancient chorus of its prehistoric past. For paleontologists, the find reminds them how much of that history remains buried, waiting, still, to be told.
