Massospondylus was a prosauropod dinosaur that lived around
200 to 185 million years ago, which places it in the early Jurassic period when
reptiles were the dominant life form on planet Earth.
Massospondylus lived mainly in what is now Africa. More than
80 fossils of Massospondylus (in various states of completion) have been found,
which has enabled it to be one of the best-studied dinosaurs.
It was about 4.5 metres long with half of this being its
tail. It had strong hind legs, which would have been useful both for escaping
from predators and for reaching the high-growing vegetation that was almost
certainly its food source.
Given the small size of its head (and therefore jaw), as
compared to its body, Massospondylus would have had to spend a large proportion
of its waking hours eating. The animal’s front teeth were large and strong –
ideal for biting the tough stems of fern-like plants – but its other teeth were
not adapted to chewing. This suggests that the food was gulped straight down
and then mashed up in the stomach, possibly aided by stones that Massospondylus
would have swallowed.
© John Welford
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