Earlier this year I visited northern Africa for the first time. I was in Morocco for two weeks to attend the 18th ISELV meeting (for the uninitiated, that stands for the International Symposium on Early and Lower Vertebrates, this is my absolute favourite conference!). ISELV was held at the Hassan 1st University in Berrechid, (not too far from Casablanca), co-organised by that University but also the University of Zurich. This was my 5th ISELV meeting, having previously attended those in Australia (Melbourne), Poland, China, and Canada.
During the meeting I gave a talk about lungfish brains “But wait, there’s more? New lungfish (Sarcopterygii, Dipnoi) cranial endocasts from the Late Devonian (Frasnian) Gogo Formation, Australia, with ontogenetic insights from Neoceratodus”, but together with Kate Trinajstic, I also gave a brief presentation honouring the work and legacy of our friend and mentor Prof. John Long on the occasion of his retirement. John has made a truly impressive scientific impact on the field of vertebrate palaeontology, but other themes such as his enthusiasm for fieldwork, generosity (and beer drinking!) were common subjects that our community also thanked him for!
Before the conference itself, I was lucky enough to get along on one of the two field trips connected to the conference. This trip focussed mostly on the Mesozoic of the Western Atlas, but we visited sites that ranged in age from the Carboniferous to Neogene (this is a remarkably long length of time!) Beyond the variety of outcrop that we could visit, the changing landscapes from the coast up to the high Atlas (and back) were absolutely breath-taking!
We started in Berrechid, and our first stop were the phosphate successions in the Ouled Abdoun Basin where we could visit private collections with some truly remarkable marine reptiles and sharks. Next we spent some time at the M’goun UNESCO Geopark Museum (to see Atlasaurus) and the stunning Ouzoud waterfalls nearby. Around Demnate and Anza we saw a lot of dinosaur trackways (many sauropod and theropod tracks), as well as pterosaur footprints preserved on the beach, as well as a small but lovely local museum in Agadir.
Next up were some Cambrian archaeocyathids (extinct reef-building sponges) and trilobites near Taroudant (although the trilobotes were hard to find!), and Carboniferous deposits in the Souss Basin, near Lamnizla, where I found some lovely plant material. Next we examined some Permian trace fossils, Triassic metoposaurids (temnospondyl amphibians), and dinosaur traces in the Argana Basin. To finish off we headed into Marrakesh the historic “Red City” which has a bustling UNESCO-listed Medina (old city) and vibrant souk areas where you could bargin for treasures to your heart’s content.
A HUGE thanks to Christian, Abdel, Merle, Amin, Jorge and everyone else involved in putting on this fabulous conference and field trip! We were so very well looked after. I am looking forward to the next meeting in 2027 in Sweden, Uppsala.
Dr Alice Clement 