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| More Dinosaur Fact Sheets | EnchantedLearning.com Masiakasaurus Fact Sheet |
Dinosaur/Paleontology Dictionary |
| NAME: | Meaning - Masiakasaurus means "vicious lizard" Pronounced - mah-SHEE-ah-kah-SAWR-us Named By - Scott Sampson, Carrano and Forster When Named - 2001 |
| DIET: | Carnivore (meat-eater) - Masiakasaurus may have eaten small fish, lizards, snakes, and mammals |
| SIZE: | Length - 5.2-6.5 ft (1.6-2.0 m) long Height - ? Weight - 35 kg |
| WHEN IT LIVED: | Late Cretaceous period, about 70-65 million years ago |
| WHERE IT LIVED: | Fossils have been found in the Maevarano Formation, Madagascar (an island off the coast of southeastern Africa). |
| FOSSILS: | About 40 percent of a skeleton and parts of the jaw have been found. |
| CLASSIFICATION: |
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| INTERESTING FACTS: |
Masiakasaurus was a small, bipedal, meat-eating dinosaur that had forward-pointing teeth, a long neck, and a long tail. It was about the size of a really big dog. Masiakasaurus's species name, knopfleri, was named for Mark Knopfler, a guitarist and singer from the rock band Dire Straits. The paleontologists who discovered this dinosaur were listening to Knopfler's music when they found and dug up Masiakasaurus. |
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