Genus
Valid Extinct

Megapnosaurus

Ivie et al. 2001

Megapnosaurus is an extinct monospecific genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur that lived around 199-188 million years ago during the early part of the Jurassic Period in what is now Africa. The species was a small to medium-sized, lightly built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore, that could grow up to 2.2 m (7.2 ft) long and weigh up to 13 kg (29 lb).

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
8
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore Ground dwelling, solitary Terrestrial
Megapnosaurus
click to enlarge
Megapnosaurus is a coelophysid theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Period of Africa. It was a lightly built bipedal carnivore that grew to just over 2 m long and 13 kg in body mass. Its close relation to Coelophysis has caused some confusion in classifying the genus - it had a slender build and curved S-shaped neck, but was more robust. Comparisons between the scleral rings of Megapnosaurus and modern birds and reptiles indicate that it may have been nocturnal. © TotalDino · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
›
Theropoda Unranked clade
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Neotheropoda Unranked clade
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Coelophysoidea Superfamily
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Coelophysidae Family
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Megapnosaurus Genus
Fossil sites 8 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
5
🇺🇸 United States
1
🇿🇦 South Africa
1
🇨🇳 China
1
Geological formations
Forest Sandstone
4
Nyamandhlovu Sandstones
1
Moenave
1
Elliot
1
Lufeng
1
Temporal distribution
Sinemurian (199.5–192.9 Ma)
6
Hettangian (201.4–199.5 Ma)
1
Norian (227.3–205.7 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis 201 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
R. B. Irmis. 2004. First report of Megapnosaurus (Theropoda: Coelophysoidea) from China. PaleoBios 24(3):11-18
Bibliography (8)
A. R. C. Milner and M. G. Lockley. 2006. History, geology and paleontology: St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, Utah. Making Tracks Across the Southwest: The 2006 Desert Symposium
R. B. Irmis. 2004. First report of Megapnosaurus (Theropoda: Coelophysoidea) from China. PaleoBios 24(3):11-18
D. Munyikwa and M. A. Raath. 1999. Further material of the ceratosaurian dinosaur Syntarsus from the Elliot Formation (Early Jurassic) of South Africa. Palaeontologia Africana 35:55-59
M. A. Raath. 1990. Morphological variation in small theropods and its meaning in systematics: evidence from Syntarsus rhodesiensis. Dinosaur Systematics: Perspectives and Approaches, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge DOI ↗
M. A. Raath. 1977. The Anatomy of the Triassic Theropod Syntarsus rhodesiensis (Saurischia: Podokesauridae) and a Consideration of Its Biology. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Salisbury, Rhodesia
G. Bond. 1972. Milestones in Rhodesian paleontology (1901–1971). Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa 75(2):151-158
M. A. Raath. 1972. First record of dinosaur footprints from Rhodesia. Arnoldia 5(37):1-5
M. A. Raath. 1969. A new coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Forest Sandstone of Rhodesia. Arnoldia (Rhodesia) 4(28):1-254