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Massospondylus
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Massospondylus was a herbivore (plant-eater) that lived
in Southern Africa and North America,
about 208 to 204 million years ago, during the early
Jurassic period.
Massospondylus was around
13 feet (4 meters) long, and its name, chosen by
Sir Richard Owen
(who also coined the term of "dinosaur")
means "massive vertebra" or "elongated vertebra"
(referring to the large bones in the creature's neck).
Massospondylus had a tiny head on the end of a very long and flexible
neck. Its hands had five fingers, and could be used for both walking
and grasping, and its thumbs were each equipped with a large claw.
Polished stones ("gastroliths") have been found inside Massospondylus skeletons. Just like
many birds do, Massospondylus is believed to have swallowed stones to help
it grind up tough food. When the stones were worn smooth and of no
further use, Massospondylus would have regurgitated the stones, and swallowed
new rough rocks to replace them.
Six Massospondylus eggs were found in
South Africa
in the 1970s. When the eggs were finally opened and the
fossilized
extracted after a 30 year wait, the eggs were found to contain
near-hatchlings with no teeth. The lack of teeth has led some scientists
to conclude that some degree of after-birth care may have been necessary,
because the hatchlings would probably have been unable to feed themselves.
Massospondylus was a herbivore (plant-eater) that lived from 208 to 204 million years ago
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Massospondylus Facts
Here is a summary of some of the key facts about Massospondylus:
- Massospondylus was a genus of dinosaur.
- "Massospondylus" means "longer vertebra". This name was chosen by Sir Richard Owen in 1854.
- Massospondylus was a member of the Saurischia ("lizard-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Massospondylus was not closely related to lizards, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
- Massospondylus was a Prosauropod - a member of a group of related early herbivorous (plant-eating) dinosaurs which had long necks, small heads, shorter forelimbs than hind limbs, and a thumb claw.
- Massospondylus lived between about 208 million years ago and 204 million years ago, during the late Jurassic period.
- Massospondylus lived in North America and Southern Africa.
- Massospondylus was a herbivore (plant-eater).
- Massospondylus is thought to have swallowed stones which would have been used to help grind up tough plant material (some modern birds do the same thing). Fossils of these stones ("gastroliths") have been found in the same rocks as Massospondylus.
- Massospondylus was about 13 feet (4 meters) long.
Massospondylus Books
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| Massospondylus: Genus, Prosauropoda, Dinosaur, Jurassic, Geologic time scale, Hettangian, Pliensbachian, Stage (stratigraphy), Annum, Richard Owen, Kayenta Formation, Type species |
Alphascript Publishing
Paperback (144 pages)
 | List Price: $65.00*
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*(As of 13:56 Pacific 8 Feb 2010 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Massospondylus is a genus of prosauropod dinosaur from the early Jurassic Period (Hettangian to Pliensbachian ages, ca. 200?183 million years ago). It was described by Sir Richard Owen in 1854 from remains found in South Africa, and is thus one of the first dinosaurs to have been named. Fossils have since been found at other locations in South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. Further material from Arizona's Kayenta Formation, India, and Argentina has been assigned to this genus, but may not belong to Massospondylus. The type, and only universally recognized, species, is M. carinatus, although six other species have been named during the past 150 years. Prosauropod systematics have undergone numerous revisions during the last several years, and many scientists disagree where exactly Massospondylus lies on the dinosaur evolutionary tree |
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By Michael R Cooper
National Museums and Monuments
Unknown Binding
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