A new theropod dinosaur, represented by a single unusual caudal vertebra, from the Kem Kem Beds (Cretaceous) of Morocco.

We describe a near-complete distal caudal vertebra from an Upper Cretaceous theropod, discovered in the Kem Kem Beds (Cenomanian) of Tafi lalt, Morocco. The specimen exhibits an extremely unusual combination of features , and we herein erect a new species, Kemkemia auditorei gen. et sp. nov. The specimen differs from other theropod distal caudal vertebrae in the presence of a relatively infl ated neural canal, strongly reduced zygapophyses, a low but very robust neural spine bearing shallow lateral fossae, a mediolaterally concave dorsal surface of the neural spine, and coalescence of the postzygapophyses in a position more proximal than the region where neural spines are absent. Although Kemkemia shares some derived features with neoceratosaurs, we provisionally refer it to Neotheropoda incertae sedis, pending the discovery of more complete material. Several distal caudal vertebrae from the Maastricthian of India are similar to Kemkemia, and may belong to a closely related taxon.