Massospondylus carinatus
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carninatus
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(mass-oh-spon-dill-uhss)
"elongated vertebra"
Describer Owen, 1854
Also Known As
?Aetonyx Broom, 1911
?Aristosaurus Hoepen, 1920
?Dromicosaurus Hoepen, 1920
?Gryponyx Broom, 1912
?Gyposaurus Broom, 1911
?Hortalotarsus Seeley, 1894
?Leptospondylus Owen, 1895
?Pachyspondylus Owen, 1854
Type of Species carinatus
Order Saurischia
SubOrder Sauropodomorpha
InfraOrder Prosauropoda
Micro-Order --
Family Massospondylidae
Size 20 feet (6.1 meters) long
Period Early Jurassic, 194 million years ago
Fossilsite South Africa; Arizona USA
Diet Herbivore
Massospondylus
carinatus was a medium sized herbivore that lived during the Early Jurassic
Period about 194 million year ago, in what is now South Africa and Arizona,
USA. Massospondylus had a small head with large, circular eye sockets,
and relatively large teeth and nostrils. Its upper jaw jutted out beyond
the bottom jaw, and its mouth contained a variety of tooth types. There
is argument between scientist that this animal may have been a carnivore.
Since front teeth were shap, Massospondylus may have used these teeth
to strip flesh from its victims, and use the rear teeth to chew up this
flesh. But most scientist believe that this dinosaur was a herbivore.
Infact, gastroliths have been found from the stomach of Massospondylus
supporting this view.
Massospondylus was a slender prosauropod, much of its lenght is acounted for by its long neck and tail. This dinosaur possessed an enlarged thumb claw, it is not clear what the use of this claw may have been. May have been used to ward off predators or to gather food. Sir Richard Owen named this prosauropod in 1854. The first fossil found was destroyed during World War II bombings, but since then many more Massospondylus have been identified.
