Massospondylus

Massospondylus Temporal range: Early Jurassic, 200–183 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Artist's impression of M. carinatus depicting the animal as bipedal
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:	†Plateosauria
Clade:	†Massopoda
Family:	†Massospondylidae
Genus:	†Massospondylus Owen, 1854
Species
†M. carinatus Owen, 1854 (type) †M. kaalae Barrett, 2009
Synonyms
?Aetonyx Broom, 1911 ?Aristosaurus Hoepen, 1920 ?Dromicosaurus Hoepen, 1920 ?Gyposaurus Broom, 1911 ?Hortalotarsus Seeley, 1894 ?Ignavusaurus Knoll, 2010 ?Leptospondylus Owen, 1895 ?Pachyspondylus Owen, 1854

Massospondylus (/ˌmæsoʊˈspɒndᵻləs/ mas-oh-SPON-di-ləs; from Greek, (massōn, "longer") and (spondylos, "vertebra")) is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Period (Hettangian to Pliensbachian ages, ca. 200–183 million years ago). It was described by Sir Richard Owen in 1854 from remains discovered in South Africa, and is thus one of the first dinosaurs to have been named. Fossils have since been found at other locations in South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. Material from Arizona's Kayenta Formation, India, and Argentina has been assigned to this genus at various times, but the Arizonan and Argentinian material are now assigned to other genera.