Fun Megapnosaurus Facts For Kids

The genus Megapnosaurus is an extinct genus of Theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Early Jurassic Period in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and North America. The species was a small to medium-sized, lean, ground-dwelling bipedal carnivore, and could grow up to 10 ft (3 m) in length.

Earlier the name Syntarsus was assigned to it by Raath in 1969.

However, Michael Ivie, Adam Slipinski, and Piotr Wegrzynowicz (a trio of paleontologists) pointed out that the generic name Syntarsus was already occupied by the colydiine beetle. They later renamed the species to its current name: Megapnosaurus!

Its type species have been given several binominal names throughout the years including M. kayentakatae by Timothy Rowe and Dr. Ronald S. Tykoski, who studied a specimen and stated that it was the new addition to the Kayentavenator stem line and the Tetanurae clade; they also made it clear that this is just a theory and there is no evidence proving that Kayentavenator belongs to the same taxon as M. kayentakatae.

Classification of a dinosaur has always been challenging. In the past, this genus was placed under Procompsognathidae, Ceratosauria, and Ceratosauridae.

At the moment, it is a part of the Coelophysidae family (classified by Dr. Ronald S. Tykoski, Timothy Rowe, Martín Ezcurra et.

al). Several fossils recovered from archeological sites have revealed that this species roamed the earth for a long time.

Their reign began in the Hettangian, Sinemurian, and Pliensbachian stages of the Early Jurassic!

Further studies also revealed that it was closely related to animals placed under Coelophysis. But like we mentioned before, placing dinosaurs under accurate clades, classes, and families is very challenging; many researchers and paleontologists like Martín Ezcurra were not fully sure about the systematic relationship between the two and the Coelophysidae family.

Learn about some other prehistoric creatures from our Linheraptor facts and Enigmosaurus facts pages.

Megapnosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Megapnosaurus'?

The word Megapnosaurus is pronounced 'meh-gap-noh-aw-rus'.

What type of dinosaur was a Megapnosaurus?

The Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis was a lizard-like Therapod dinosaur.

In which geological period did the Megapnosaurus roam the earth?

The Megapnosaurus roamed the earth for a long time, the Hettangian, Sinemurian, and Pliensbachian stages of the Early Jurassic period around 174-201 million years ago!

When did the Megapnosaurus become extinct?

These dinosaurs lived during the Early Jurassic period and went extinct during the K-T mass extinction nearly 65 million years ago.

Where did a Megapnosaurus live?

Fossil remains were recovered from the Upper Elliot Formation in South Africa, and the Chitake River in Zimbabwe, and several other regions in the USA.

What was a Megapnosaurus' habitat?

It inhabited several regions including the Upper Elliot Formation, which was a floodplain during the dinosaur era, and woodlands of Africa and North America. It was also found in evergreen forests, streams, and near ponds, where plenty of food and other survival resources were available.

The Kayenta Formation in the Early Jurassic period experienced rainfall during summers and extreme conditions during winters. Some also state that they lived in desert dunes and oases. All in all, these dinosaurs seemed to have excellent adaptability and thrived in various conditions

Who did a Megapnosaurus live with?

Around 30 Megapnosaurus (Syntarsus rhodesiensis) specimens were found together in a fossil, which led many researchers to believe that they hunted in packs.

How long did a Megapnosaurus live?

Studies conducted on these dinosaurs revealed that they had a poor life span and lived up to seven years due to the harsh environment in which they lived, surrounded by larger predatory dinosaurs.

How did they reproduce?

They reproduced via sexual reproduction. Males would deposit their sperm inside females, who would later lay fertilized eggs containing developing dinosaur embryos.

Megapnosaurus Fun Facts

What did a Megapnosaurus look like?

More in-depth studies and research on the fossils and recovered specimens revealed that Megapnosaurus kayentakatae was a lean, fairly skinny, and small dinosaur, with long slender legs, a tail, and two small crests on its long, narrow head, supported by a long 'S' shaped neck.

Megapnosaurus' skull was narrow and elongated and it had weak dentary bones in the jaw, which made the jaw look 'hooked', similar to that of Dilophosaurus who belong to the same family.

Earlier, it was often confused as a member of Coelophysoidea, until researchers observed that it was slightly bigger and stronger than members of Coelophysoidea.

This dinosaur is also believed to be one of the first creatures to have feathers, however, there is no concrete evidence to back this.

How many bones did a Megapnosaurus have?

A partial Megapnosaurus skeleton including its skull, dentary, and leg bones was recovered from South Africa. Thus, the total number of bones present in this dinosaur is unknown.

How did they communicate?

This Theropod dinosaur communicated both vocally and visually. Body language played an important role in interspecific and intraspecific communication.

How big was a Megapnosaurus?

Megapnosaurus (M. rhodesiensis) measured up to 10 ft (3 m) long from nose to tail 2.6 ft (80 cm) in height.

How fast could a Megapnosaurus move?

A Megapnosaurus (Syntarsus) had long slender legs like the secretarybird, with short forelimbs and a long tail, which made it a swift bipedal runner.

How much did a Megapnosaurus weigh?

An adult Megapnosaurus (M. rhodesiensis) weighed about 70 lb (32 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

The female species are called Saura, whereas the males are called Saurus.

What would you call a baby Megapnosaurus?

Since they hatched from eggs, new baby dinosaurs are called hatchlings, just like their modern-day reptile cousins.

What did they eat?

Their weak dentary bones lead many paleontologists to believe that these dinosaurs were not hunters or predators, but scavengers, meaning they feasted on dead animals or carcasses. Several hypotheses state that their frontal teeth were too weak to grasp and hold a live prey. Unlike Megapnosaurus, Coelophysis caught prey of small animals using their speed to their advantage.

There are also a few researchers who proposed that the members of this species were nocturnal, hunted in packs, and preyed upon smaller animals.

How aggressive were they?

The Megapnosaurus dinosaur was more of a scavenger than a hunter, feasting on prey that was killed by natural causes or by another dinosaur. They avoided getting involved in combat and had great survival instincts.

Did you know...

Dinosaur footprints and other remains recovered from Rhodesia in 1915 actually belonged to Megapnosaurus!

The Early Jurassic period (199.6-145.5 million years ago) had a warm, wet climate which led to lush vegetation and abundant life.

What does 'Megapnosaurus' mean?

The word Megapnosaurus is derived from Greek and roughly translates to 'big dead lizard'. This dinosaur was previously called Syntarsus by Raath, and the name Megapnosaurus was given to the species by ‬Ivie,‭ ‬Slipinski, and Wegrzynowicz.‭

Megapnosaurus vs. Coelophysis

Even though the biological classification for these dinosaurs is quite similar, they are two different dinosaur species. The Coelophysis is also an extinct genus of Theropod dinosaurs but it lived approximately 221 million years ago during the latter part of the Triassic Period in the southwestern United States, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Cedarpelta interesting facts and Veterupristisaurus facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Megapnosaurus coloring pages.

Main image by Zhiheng Li et al.