Locality · Fossil-trade hub; workshops and dealers
Erfoud and Rissani
Errachidia Province, Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco
Erfoud and Rissani in the Tafilalet oasis are the wholesale centre of the Moroccan fossil trade: workshops cut and polish orthoceras and goniatite limestone into tables and bowls, prepare trilobites from Alnif and Jorf, and supply Kem Kem dinosaur teeth from the digs near Taouz. Almost every Moroccan fossil in a western show passed through here. The polished black 'orthoceras' plates are genuine Devonian nautiloids, though the species names on them are usually made up.
| Country | Morocco |
|---|---|
| State / province | Drâa-Tafilalet |
| County | Errachidia Province |
| Land manager / status | Private workshops and dealers |
| Access | Dealers, workshops and the Erfoud fossil 'museums' along the N13; Kem Kem digs near Taouz with guides |
| Formations | Kem Kem Group, El Otfal Formation |
| What is found | orthoceras and goniatite plates, Spinosaurus teeth, Carcharodontosaurus teeth, Onchopristis, Scyphocrinites, trilobites |
| Coordinates (public site) | 31.43, -4.24 |
Rules
Same legal position as Alnif: common fossils may be bought and exported with dealer invoices; large or scientifically significant vertebrate material draws scrutiny at customs and at museums. Orthoceras and goniatite tables and sinks are an industrial product cut from Devonian limestone quarries near Erfoud.
Source: https://www.aaps.net/ethics.htm (checked 2026-09-16).
Elsewhere
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Erfoud and Rissani" (Locality). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/localities/erfoud-and-rissani. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-erfoud-and-rissani,
title = {Erfoud and Rissani},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/localities/erfoud-and-rissani}},
year = {2026},
note = {Locality article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, commons. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.