Open Paleo

Massopoda

Yates, 2007

Its genera lived 227.3–66.0 million years ago Late Triassic–Late Cretaceous

Massopoda is a clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs that lived from the Late Triassic through the Late Cretaceous. It is defined as all sauropodomorphs more closely related to Saltasaurus than to Plateosaurus (Yates, 2007), and its name is a contraction of Massospondylidae and Sauropoda, two very different groups that both fall within it. Nested inside is the more exclusive Sauropodiformes, the most inclusive group that contains Saltasaurus but excludes Massospondylus (McPhee and colleagues, 2014). Its members range from small, bipedal massospondylids to the gigantic, quadrupedal true sauropods, and together they encompass the great majority of sauropodomorph diversity.

Diagnosis

  1. Anterior end of the premaxilla deflected to form an enlarged narial region
  2. Reduced or absent lateral lamina of the prefrontal
  3. Distal end of the tibia with a transversely expanded, sub-rectangular outline
  4. Trend toward enlarged body size and graviportal limb proportions

Clades within Massopoda

Genera placed directly in Massopoda

  • Ignavusaurus Knoll, 2010 Hettangian–Sinemurian (201.4–192.9 Ma)Lesothoincertae sedisunder dispute
  • Kholumolumo Peyre de Fabrègues & Allain, 2019 Norian (227.3–205.7 Ma)Lesothoincertae sedisunder dispute
  • Sarahsaurus Rowe et al., 2011 Sinemurian–Pliensbachian (199.5–184.2 Ma)United Statesincertae sedisunder dispute
  • Wudingloong Wang et al., 2025 Hettangian–Sinemurian (201.4–192.9 Ma)China
  • Xiangyunloong Hu et al., 2026 Hettangian–Sinemurian (201.4–192.9 Ma)China

References

  1. Yates, A. M. (2007). Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology 19(1): 93-123. doi:10.1080/08912960600866953

    Erected Massopoda.

    yates2007a
  2. McPhee, B. W.; Yates, A. M.; Choiniere, J. N.; Abdala, F. (2014). The complete anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Antetonitrus ingenipes (Sauropodiformes, Dinosauria): implications for the origins of Sauropoda. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 171(1): 151-205. doi:10.1111/zoj.12127

    Redefined Sauropodiformes as all taxa closer to Saltasaurus than to Massospondylus, replacing Sereno's node-based definition.

    mcphee2014a