恐龍卡第 1146 張，共 2 027 張

Massospondylus

名字的意思： “longer vertebra”1

吃：植物長脖子恐龍三疊紀晚期到侏羅紀早期

Massospondylus was an early long-necked dinosaur that lived in southern Africa during the Early Jurassic. It had a small head, a long neck and tail, and a slender body. This dinosaur walked on two legs and used its sharp thumb claws to pull down branches or dig up plants.1

生存年代

237 到 175 百萬年前4

三疊紀晚期到侏羅紀早期

化石發現地

South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Namibia1 4

長度

4 到 6 m (13 到 20 ft)1

體重

70 kg 到 136.7 kg (154 到 301 lb)3 1

高度

1.8 m (5.9 ft)2

最高速度

時速約 41 公里（25 英里）

跑步, 估計值

牠生活在什麼時候？

三疊紀

侏羅紀

白堊紀

2 億 5200 萬年前20114566，小行星撞地球

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多高？

牠有多重？

跟 7 隻狗一樣重

跟 6 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 33 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長跟 27 顆西瓜一樣重跟 7 個幼兒園小朋友一樣重跟 4 個小學生一樣重能在 8.8 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類要 9.6 秒）

Massospondylus 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡算算數學。什麼都不會被儲存或傳送出去。

牠有多快？

走路的人 時速約 5 公里 (3 mph)

騎腳踏車的小朋友 時速約 12 公里 (7 mph)

Massospondylus 時速約 41 公里 (25 mph)

一匹飛奔的馬 時速約 65 公里 (40 mph)

一隻獵豹 時速約 100 公里 (62 mph)

酷東西

趣味知識

Massospondylus was one of the first dinosaurs to be named, described by Richard Owen in 1854.1

Its name means 'longer vertebra' because Owen thought the neck bones were tail bones.1

Fossil eggs and embryos of Massospondylus have been found, and they are among the oldest known dinosaur eggs.1

The eggshell of Massospondylus was extremely thin, less than 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) thick.1

Baby Massospondylus had proportionally longer arms and a larger head than adults, suggesting they may have walked on four legs when young.1

Massospondylus could speed up or slow down its growth depending on how much food was available.1

The oldest known Massospondylus was about 20 years old when it died.1

Massospondylus 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Massospondylus 可能的樣子。這只是猜測：真正的動物可能長得不一樣，也沒有人知道牠真正的顏色。

你們都在問

關於 Massospondylus 最常被問的問題

?How big was Massospondylus?

Massospondylus was about 4 to 6 metres (13 to 20 feet) long, with a small head, long neck and tail, and a slender body. It weighed around 150 kilograms (330 pounds) according to the Natural History Museum.1 3

?What did Massospondylus eat?

It was probably a herbivore (plant-eater), though some scientists think it may have been omnivorous. It used its sharp thumb claws to pull down branches or dig up plants, and it may have swallowed stones to help grind tough leaves in its stomach.1 2

?Did Massospondylus walk on two legs or four?

It is now considered to have been bipedal (walked on two legs), though it was long thought to be quadrupedal. Some studies suggest babies may have walked on four legs, but newer research says it was bipedal at all ages.1

?When did Massospondylus live?

It lived during the Early Jurassic, about 201 to 184 million years ago.1 3

?Where was Massospondylus found?

Fossils have been found in southern Africa, including South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, and also in Namibia. Some fossils from the US and Argentina were once assigned to it but are now considered different dinosaurs.1 2

?Did Massospondylus lay eggs?

Yes, it laid eggs, and some of the oldest known dinosaur eggs and embryos belong to this genus. The eggshells were extremely thin, less than 0.1 mm (0.004 in) thick.1

迷思破解王

迷思： Massospondylus was a four-legged (quadrupedal) dinosaur.

真相： Scientists now think Massospondylus walked on two legs (bipedal), though babies may have been four-legged.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Massospondylus
命名者: Owen 18544
類群: 長脖子恐龍
科 / 演化支: Massospondylidae4
分類: Sauropodomorpha4
岩石的年代: 237 到 175 百萬年 (Carnian / Toarcian)4
岩層: Elliot, Mpandi, Forest Sandstone4
國家: 南非, 辛巴威, 賴索托, 納米比亞4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 80 筆4
發現: The first fossils of Massospondylus were found in 1853 or 1854 by Joseph Millard Orpen and his brothers on a farm in the Drakensberg mountains near Harrismith, South Africa. Their father donated the fossils to the Hunterian Museum in London, where Richard Owen described and named the dinosaur in 1854.1
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating whether Massospondylus was purely a plant-eater or also ate small animals or carrion.1