Vulcanodon karibaensis

Vulcanodon was a small primitive sauropod from the Early Jurassic of Africa. It was originally classified as a melanosaurid prosauropod based on sharp teeth associated with the skeleton but it was since then shown that the teeth belonged to an unidentified theropod that was scavenging on the remains of Vulcanodon.

Name

Vulcanodon karibaensis

Authority

Raath, 1972

Meaning of generic name

Volcano tooth

Meaning of specific name

From Lake Kariba

Size

Length: 6.5 m, Skull length: ?

Remains

Holotype (QG 24): postcranial skeleton (pelvis, hindlimb and foot, forearm, proximal section of the tail)

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Vulcanodon Beds Formation, Lower Jurassic (Hettangian).

Locality: Lake Kariba Island, Mashonaland, Zimbabwe.

Classification

Dinosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Vulcanodontidae

Further Reading

M. A. Raath. 1972. Fossil vertebrate studies in Rhodesia: a new dinosaur (Reptilia: Saurischia) from near the Tria-Jurassic boundary. Arnoldia 5(31):1-37.

Image by Tobu Namura (click to enlarge)

Vulcanodon karibaensis:

Zimbabwe

• Unlisted
  • Vulcanodon (Sauropod, Vulcanodon Beds, Lo. Jur. [Hett.])
• Forest Sandstone Formation, Karroo Group, Zimbabwe, Lower Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian)
  • Massospondylus carinatus (Prosauropoda Massospondylidae)
  • Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis (Theropoda Coelophysoidea)

Massospondylus

Massospondylus was a prosauropod from the Early Jurassic of South Africa. It was depicted as quadrupedal but a 2007 study indicated that it was bipedal. Two species are recognized: M. carinatus and M. kaalae, both from South Africa. Prosauropods remains found in Arizona, Argentina and India have been attributed to Massospondylus but they belong to different genera.

I

Name

Massospondylus carinatus

Authority

Owen, 1854

Meaning of generic name

"Longer vertebra"

Size

Length: 4 m, Skull length:

Remains

Holotype: partial skeleton

Referred specimens: remains of some 80 individuals from juvenile to adults.

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Upper Elliot Formation, Clarence Formation; Zoutpansberg Member of the Bushveld Sandstone; Forest Sandstone. Lower Jurassic (Hettangien-Plienbaschian)

Locality: Orange Free State, Cape province, S. Africa; Transvaal, S. Africa; Leribe, Quthing, Lesotho; Matabeleland, North, Zimbabwe.

Classification

Dinosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Prosauropoda Massospondylidae

Further Reading

R. Owen. 1854. Descriptive catalogue of the Fossil organic remains of Reptilia and Pisces contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. London 1-184.

J. Attridge, A. W. Crompton, and F. A. Jenkins, Jr. 1985. The southern African Liassic prosauropod Massospondylus discovered in North America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 5(2):128-132

Synonyms

Plateosaurus carinatus (Owen, 1854) Paul, 1988; Leptospondylus capensis Owen, 1854 (nomen dubium); Pachyspondylus orpenii Owen, 1854 (nomen dubium); Hortalotarsus skirtopodus Seeley, 1894; Gyposaurus skirtopodus (Seeley, 1894); Thecodontosaurus skirtopodus (Seeley, 1894); Massospondylus browni Seeley, 1895; Thecodontosaurus browni (Seeley, 1895); Massospondylus harriesi Broom, 1911; Aetonyx palustris Broom, 1911; Gryponyx transvaalensis Broom, 1912 (nomen dubium); Aristosaurus erectus Hoepen, 1920; Gyposaurus erectus Hoepen, 1920; Dromicosaurus gracilis Hoepen, 1920; Gryponyx taylori Haughton, 1924 (nomen dubium); Massospondylus schwarzi Haughton, 1924 (nomen dubium); Thecodontosaurus dubius Haughton, 1924; Thecodontosaurus minor Haughton, 1924 non Haughton, 1918

Images by Tobu Namura (click to enlarge)

Massospondylus carinatus:

Juvenile Massospondylus carinatus:

II

Name

Massospondylus kaalae.

Authority

Barrett, 2009

Meaning of specific name

After Mrs Sheena Kaal, collections manager for the Karoo vertebrates at the Iziko South African Museum

Size

Length: 4 m, Skull length:

[Skull length, precisely, is not given!]

Remains

Holotype (SAM-PK-K1325): incomplete skull.

[Skull is all we have!]

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Upper Elliot Formation, Lower Jurassic (Sinemurian-Plienbaschian)

Locality: Herschel District, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Further Reading

Barrett, P. M. 2009. A new basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29 (4): 1032-1045

Megapnosaurus

Previously known as Syntarsus (the name was preoccupied by a beetle), Megapnosaurus was very similar to Coelophysis to the point that some have proposed to be the same genus. However, Megapnosaurus lived in the Early Jurassic, while Coelophysis is from the Late Triassic. Remains of several individuals have been found together indicating that it probably lived in pack. Two species have been described, M. rhodesiensis from South Africa and M. kayentakatae from Arizona. The latter had a pair of crests on its snout. Megapnosaurus remains have also been reported from the Lower Lufeng Formation of China.

I

Name

Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis

Authority

(Raath, 1969)

Meaning of generic name

"Big dead lizard".

Meaning of specific name

from Rhodesia.

Size

Body length:3 m, Skull length: ?

Remains

Holotype (QG/1): a partial skeleton.

Referred materials: remains of at least 30 individuals.

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Forest Sandstone Formation of Zimbabwe. Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian). Also from the Upper Elliot Formation of S. Africa. Early Jurassic (Hettangian-Sinemurian)

Locality: Kwengula stream, Southcote Farm, Zimbabwe.

Classification

Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Coelophysoidea Coelophysidae

Further Reading

M. A. Raath. 1969. A new coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Forest Sandstone of Rhodesia. Arnoldia (Rhodesia) 4(28):1-254.

Synonyms

Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Raath, 1969); Coelophysis rhodesiensis (Raath, 1969)

II

Name

Megapnosaurus kayentakatae

Authority

(Rowe, 1989)

Meaning of specific name

To honor Dr Kathleen Smith ("Kayenta Kay"), the discoverer of the fossil.

Size

Body length:3 m, Skull length: ?

[Why ? on skull length? The skull is there at least in part from MNA V2623]

Remains

Holotype (MNA V2623): skull and partial postcranial skeleton.

Referred materials: remains of at least 16 individuals.

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Kayenta Formation. Early Jurassic (Sinemurian-Plienbaschian)

Locality: Rock Head, Willow Springs, Arizona, US.

Further Reading

T. Rowe. 1989. A new species of the theropod dinosaur Syntarsus from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation of Arizona. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 9(2):125-136.

Synonyms

Syntarsus kayentakatae Rowe, 1989; Coelophysis kayentakatae (Rowe, 1898)

Creationist remark: "Megapnosaurus was very similar to Coelophysis to the point that some have proposed to be the same genus. However, Megapnosaurus lived in the Early Jurassic, while Coelophysis is from the Late Triassic." = Evolutionists want to keep Coelophysis separate from "early" Jurassic. And as obviously Megapnosaurus separate from "late" Triassic.