Open Paleo

Massospondylus

Owen, 1854 MASS-oh-SPON-di-lus /ˌmæsoʊˈspɒndɪləs/

From Greek 'massos' meaning 'longer' and 'spondylos' meaning 'vertebra', referring to what Richard Owen identified as elongated tail vertebrae.

201.4–192.9 million years ago Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic stages

Massospondylus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. It was described by Richard Owen in 1854 from remains discovered in South Africa, and is thus one of the first dinosaurs to have been named. The name Massospondylus means 'longer vertebra', alluding to what Owen identified as tail vertebrae; these vertebrae are now known to be from the neck. Although the original fossils were destroyed in London during The Blitz, a plethora of specimens have since been assigned to the genus, making it one of the best-known sauropodomorphs from the Early Jurassic. The genus lived during the Hettangian, Sinemurian, and Pliensbachian ages, which lasted from ca. 201 to 184 million years ago. Most fossils come from the upper Elliot and Clarens formations of South Africa and Lesotho, but the genus is also found in the Forest Sandstone and the Mpandi Formation of Zimbabwe. Material from the US, India, and Argentina was previously assigned to the genus, but the US and Argentinian specimens are now assigned to their own genera (Sarahsaurus and Adeopapposaurus). Because of their great abundance, Massospondylus fossils have been used to date rocks, and a biozone, the Massospondylus Range Zone, is named after the genus.

Diagnosis

  1. Basipterygoid processes diverging at an angle of less than 60°
  2. Anterior cervical centra strongly elongate, with centrum length to anterior centrum height ratios greater than 7.0
  3. Neural spines of the anterior cervical vertebrae bearing anterior hook-like expansions
  4. Distal scapular blade with a small dorsal and a large ventral expansion
  5. Deltopectoral crest extending for about 60% of the humeral length
  6. Ulna length to humerus length ratio of 0.6 or less
  7. Anterior surface of the distal pubes flat and unexpanded

Species (2)

Massospondylus carinatus Owen, 1854

Type species

From Latin 'carinatus' meaning 'keeled', referring to the keeled vertebrae that characterize this sauropodomorph.

Neotype
BP/1/4934 , Evolutionary Studies Institute (formerly Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research), University of the Witwatersrand
Material
Partially complete, articulated skeleton including an almost complete skull, but lacking most of the hind limbs and tail; an adult individual.
Notes
The original syntype series (five cervical vertebrae) was destroyed in the 19 May 1941 bombing of the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, leaving only casts and illustrations. As casts cannot serve as types, Yates and Barrett (2010) formally designated BP/1/4934 as the neotype under ICZN Article 75, following earlier suggestions by Sues and colleagues (2004) and Barrett (2009).
Horizon
upper Elliot Formation, Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic , 201.4–192.9 million years ago
Locality
Bormansdrift 133, Free State, South Africa

Synonyms

  • Gyposaurus capensis junior subjective

    Erected by Broom (1911) on SAM-PK-K990, a partial skeleton lacking the skull, from near Ladybrand, South Africa. Barrett and colleagues (2019) record it as a junior subjective synonym of Massospondylus carinatus following Cooper (1981) and Galton (1990); a minority view instead holds it undiagnostic.

Massospondylus kaalae Barrett, 2009

After Sheena Kaal, Karoo vertebrate collections manager at the Iziko South African Museum, in recognition of assistance to researchers.

Holotype
SAM-PK-K1325 , Iziko South African Museum
Material
Incomplete, partially disarticulated skull: paired premaxillae, maxillae, lacrimals, jugals, pterygoids, frontals, and parietals; partial left nasal, left prefrontal, and right palatine; partial braincase; right dentary; a prearticular; an almost complete left mandible; teeth; indeterminate fragments
Horizon
upper Elliot Formation, Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic , 201.4–192.9 million years ago
Locality
Near Voyizane village, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Diagnosis
  1. Premaxilla forming more than 30% of the upper tooth row.
  2. Dorsolateral ridge on the lacrimal more prominent than in M. carinatus.
  3. Cultriform process of the parabasisphenoid positioned ventral to the level of the basioccipital condyle (at the same level, or only slightly deflected, in M. carinatus).
  4. Basipterygoid processes slender, elongate, and unexpanded distally (bulbous and expanded in both directions in M. carinatus).

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Aetonyx junior subjective Barrett and colleagues (2019) record Aetonyx palustris as a junior synonym of Massospondylus carinatus, following Cooper (1981); a minority view instead holds it undiagnostic.
Aristosaurus possible subjective Barrett and colleagues (2019) present Aristosaurus erectus as either a junior subjective synonym of Massospondylus carinatus, following Cooper (1981), or an undiagnostic sauropodomorph, following Galton (1990) and Galton and Upchurch (2004), without choosing between them.
Dromicosaurus possible subjective Barrett and colleagues (2019) present Dromicosaurus gracilis as either a junior subjective synonym of Massospondylus carinatus, following Cooper (1981), or an undiagnostic sauropodomorph, following Galton (1990) and Galton and Upchurch (2004), without choosing between them.
Hortalotarsus possible subjective Barrett and colleagues (2019) present Hortalotarsus skirtopodus as either a junior subjective synonym of Massospondylus carinatus, following Cooper (1981), or an undiagnostic sauropodomorph, following Galton (1990) and Galton and Upchurch (2004), without choosing between them.
Leptospondylus junior subjective Historically grouped with Pachyspondylus; both are now considered referable to Massospondylus.
Pachyspondylus junior subjective Original material was destroyed in a 1941 bombing, preventing definitive analysis; today generally treated as referable to Massospondylus.

Notable specimens

  • Mafeteng hatchling

    SAM-PK-K413 Iziko South African Museum Found 1961 by British-South African palaeontological expedition ontogeny

    Hatchling skeleton from Mafeteng, Lesotho, at first misidentified as the varanopid Heleosaurus. It is central to the debate over a juvenile-to-adult postural shift; analysis found this hatchling to be bipedal, suggesting Massospondylus was bipedal at all ages.

    Mooney et al. (2025)

  • BP-1-5241

    Evolutionary Studies Institute (formerly Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research), University of the Witwatersrand complementary

    Preserves well-developed clavicles joined in a furcula-like arrangement that clasped the right and left shoulder blades. The specimen indicates clavicle reduction is limited to the line leading to ceratopsians and that the furcula of birds is derived from clavicles.

    Yates & Vasconcelos (2005)

References

  1. Owen, R. (1854). Descriptive catalogue of the Fossil organic remains of Reptilia and Pisces contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 97-98. Taylor and Francis. owen1854a
  2. Yates, A. M.; Barrett, P. M. (2010). Massospondylus carinatus Owen 1854 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Lower Jurassic of South Africa: Proposed conservation of usage by designation of a neotype. Palaeontologia Africana 45: 7-10.

    Formally designates BP/1/4934 as the neotype of Massospondylus carinatus under ICZN Article 75, the original syntype series having been destroyed in 1941.

    yates2010a
  3. Chapelle, K. E. J.; Choiniere, J. N. (2018). A revised cranial description of Massospondylus carinatus Owen (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) based on computed tomographic scans and a review of cranial characters for basal Sauropodomorpha. PeerJ 6: e4224. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.4224

    CT-based revised cranial description; proposes cranial autapomorphies (basipterygoid processes diverging less than 60°) and rejects the earlier Sues and colleagues (2004) cranial diagnosis.

    chapelle2018a
  4. Barrett, P. M.; Chapelle, K. E. J.; Staunton, C. K.; Botha, J.; Choiniere, J. N. (2019). Postcranial osteology of the neotype specimen of Massospondylus carinatus Owen, 1854 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the upper Elliot Formation of South Africa. Palaeontologia Africana 53: 114-178.

    First full postcranial description of the neotype BP/1/4934 and an emended diagnosis of the species; confirms by osteohistology that the neotype is an adult.

    barrett2019a
  5. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026b
  6. Mooney, E. D.; Maho, T.; Rowe, D. C. T.; Scott, D.; Reisz, R. R. (2025). Massospondylus embryos and hatchling provide new insights into early sauropodomorph ontogeny. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 144(1): 44. doi:10.1186/s13358-025-00382-5 mooney2025a
  7. Yates, A. M.; Vasconcelos, C. C. (2005). Furcula-like clavicles in the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(2): 466-468. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0466:FCITPD]2.0.CO;2 yates2005b
  8. Sues, H. D.; Reisz, R. R.; Hinic, S.; Raath, M. A. (2004). On the skull of Massospondylus carinatus Owen, 1854 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Elliot and Clarens formations (Lower Jurassic) of South Africa. Annals of Carnegie Museum 73(4): 239-257. doi:10.5962/p.316084

    Redescribed the skull of Massospondylus carinatus.

    sues2004a
  9. 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. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1671/039.029.0401

    Erects Massospondylus kaalae on skull SAM-PK-K1325 from the Upper Elliot Formation of South Africa.

    barrett2009b
  10. Cooper, M. R. (1981). The prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus carinatus Owen from Zimbabwe: its biology, mode of life and phylogenetic significance. Occasional Papers of the National Museums and Monuments of Rhodesia, Series B, Natural Sciences 6: 689-840. cooper1981a
  11. Galton, P. M. (1990). Basal Sauropodomorpha-Prosauropoda. The Dinosauria (Weishampel, D. B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska, H., eds.) 320-344. University of California Press, Berkeley. galton1990a
  12. Broom, R. (1911). On the dinosaurs of the Stormberg, South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum 7(4): 291-308. broom1911a
  13. Galton, P. M.; Upchurch, P. (2004). Prosauropoda. The Dinosauria, Second Edition (Weishampel, D. B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska, H., eds.) 232-258. University of California Press, Berkeley. galton2004a