Magnamanus

Say it: mag-NAY-man-us

Name means: “large hand”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersEarly Cretaceous

Magnamanus was a big, plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Spain about 130 million years ago. It had huge hands with a thumb spike and a fifth finger, which helped it grab plants. This dinosaur was as long as a bus and weighed as much as a small car.1

Lived

133 to 121 million years ago2

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Golmayo, Soria, Spain1 2

Food

Plants2 1

Length

9 to 10 m1

Weight

3 tonnes1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 2 cars parked in a rowas long as 56 bananas end to endas heavy as 2 carsas heavy as 100 big dogsas heavy as 600 watermelons

How big was Magnamanus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Magnamanus had a hand that was very wide, with the wrist making up 70% of the hand's length.1

Its thumb had a sharp spike, similar to the famous Iguanodon, which might have been used for defense or digging.1

The name Magnamanus means 'large hand' in Latin, because its hands were big compared to its body.1

This dinosaur lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 130 million years ago, in a warm, wet environment with rivers and lakes.1

The skeleton of Magnamanus was found scattered over an area of eight square meters, but all bones belonged to one old adult.1

Magnamanus is a styracosternan, a group of plant-eating dinosaurs that includes Iguanodon and its close relatives.1

AI-made picture of Magnamanus — An AI-made picture of how Magnamanus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Magnamanus

?How big was Magnamanus?

Magnamanus was about 9 to 10 metres long and weighed around 3 tonnes, about the size of a bus and as heavy as a large elephant.1

?What did Magnamanus eat?

Magnamanus was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It used its big hands and thumb spike to grab and pull plants.1

?Why is it called Magnamanus?

The name Magnamanus means 'large hand' in Latin, because its hands were big compared to its body.1

?Where was Magnamanus found?

Magnamanus was found in the Golmayo Formation near Soria, Spain. Its skeleton was discovered in a marsh area called Zorralbo I.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Magnamanus
Named by: Fuentes Vidarte et al. 20162
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Styracosterna2
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia2
Age of the rocks: 133 to 121 million years (Hauterivian / Barremian)2
Rock formations: Golmayo2
Countries: Spain2
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database2
Discovery: Magnamanus was discovered between 2000 and 2004 by Carolina Fuentes and Manuel Meijide, along with their children, at the Zorralbo I site near Soria, Spain. It was named and described in 2016 by Fuentes Vidarte and colleagues.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly where Magnamanus fits on the family tree of iguanodontian dinosaurs, as it has some unique features in its hands and wrists.1

Where the facts come from

Magnamanus (en.wikipedia.org)
Magnamanus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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