(or unguals) are all very large, narrow and sharply recurved, and are significantly larger than the preceding finger bone they were attached to. The digits and claws share features with those of dromaeosaurid and troodontid maniraptorans, as well as other reptiles such as the turtle Proganochelys. These shared traits are associated with well developed flexor tendons, and it is suggested to be an adaptation for withstanding forces involved in digging. History of Discovery A. laaroussii Early discoveries The first fossils of Azendohsaurus laaroussii were discovered in a northern part the Timezgadiouine Formation in Morocco, which is found within the Argana Basin of the High Atlas. The fossil beds consist of sandstones and red clay mudstones, and were excavated by Jean-Michel Dutuit between 1962 and 1969. The fossils of A. laaroussii are known from only a single layer within the formation, in an outcrop numbered XVI by Dutuit at the base of the T5 (or Irohalene) member. The T5 member has traditionally been roughly dated to the early Late Triassic in age using vertebrate biostratigraphy based on the presence of the phytosaur "Paleorhinus" magnoculus, as part of the Carnian dated '"Palaeorhinus" biochron', although this method of correlating and dating global Triassic sequences may be inaccurate and the date for the T5 member remains uncertain. The first fossils consisted of only a partial tooth-bearing dentary fragment and some associated teeth. This material was discovered by J. M. Dutuit in 1965 and described in 1972, who believed it to belong to a herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur, as well as one of the oldest dinosaurs yet discovered. He named the genus "Azendoh lizard", after the nearby Azendoh village located only 1.5 km to the west of where the fossils were discovered. The specific name, A. laaroussii, is in honour of Laaroussi, the name of a technician from the Moroccan geological mapping service who first discovered the site where Azendohsaurus was found. Dutuit's description of Azendohsaurus as an ornithischian was soon challenged by palaeontologist Richard Thulborn two years later in 1974, who was the first to suggest that Azendohsaurus was a "prosauropod" instead. The same conclusion was made by José Boneparte after examining the material himself in 1976. This re-identification was favoured by researchers in subsequent publications, and it was variously referred to the "prosauropod" families Anchisauridae and Thecodontosauridae without further explanation. Dutuit himself even agreed that Azendohsaurus was likely to be a "prosauropod" in 1983,