Buzz
Seventy million years ago, Madagascar’s apex predator was a bizarre, lumpy-headed creature whose diet could have easily been compared to that of Hannibal Lecter.
1. Majungasaurus engaged in cannibalism.
As far as we know, no other large carnivores roamed the territory of Majungasaurus, yet many Majungasaurus atopus fossils show signs of having been chewed on by a massive meat-eating dinosaur. The bite marks match perfectly with the teeth of this same species, and the spacing between the wounds corresponds to the inter-tooth gaps of M. atopus.
You might think the dinosaurs were simply battling one another, but the evidence tells a different story. As paleontologist Scott Sampson discusses in Dinosaur Odyssey, these marks “[couldn’t] have been caused by brief skirmishes between rival adults, because many of the bite marks are found on limb bones” that would have been “out of reach” during non-fatal fights.
2. Its skull revealed a 20-year-old error.
The first well-preserved Majungasaurus skull surfaced in 1996. Two decades earlier, in 1976, Philippe Taquet, a French paleontologist, came across an incomplete skull fossil from Madagascar’s Mahajanga region, where Majungasaurus had been initially discovered eighty years prior. He and a colleague mistakenly identified it as a dome-headed relative of the North American herbivore Pachycephalosaurus, known for its 9- to 10-inch-thick skull. However, the 1996 skull revealed that Taquet’s specimen (which he had named Majungatholus) was actually Majungasaurus.
3. Jurassic World gave it a subtle reference.
Apparently, the villainous dinosaur is partly Majungasaurus. Named Indominus rex, the fearsome antagonist in the film is a genetically modified organism, with horns artificially engineered from the DNA of “Carnotaurus, Majungasaurus, Rugops, and Giganotosaurus.” However, the term bump might be a more fitting description for the single protrusion above and between Majungasaurus’ eyes.
4. An injury or illness appears to have shortened one specimen’s tail.
Before its demise, this unfortunate dinosaur lost “at least 10” vertebrae near its tail’s end. Over 20 Majungasaurus specimens show signs of physical afflictions, including one that had a broken toe bone.
5. It had an unusually robust build.
Compared to most theropods, Majungasaurus was rather short. Its legs were slightly shorter than typical, which gave this African predator a compact, sturdy appearance.
6. Majungasaurus’ eyes weren’t particularly quick.
Deviant Paleoart, Flickr //CC BY-SA 3.0
Roll your eyes. You’ve just activated a part of your brain called the flocculus. Based on a 2007 study of skull cavities, Majungasaurus may have struggled with this action. Its cranial features suggest it likely had a small floccular process, which likely made rapid eye movements difficult.
7. Long before Majungasaurus evolved, its homeland drifted away from India.
Around 83 to 88 million years ago, Madagascar and the Indian subcontinent officially separated. Both had once been part of the vast continent known as Gondwana, which also included Africa, South America, and the Arabian Peninsula. Members of the Majungasaurus family, the Abelisauridae, have been discovered on all five of these landmasses.
8. It had large shoulder blades but tiny arms.
D. Gordon E. Robertson, Flickr // CC BY-SA 3.0
Feel free to mock T. rex’s tiny arms—at least they weren’t this absurd. Majungasaurus had minuscule lower arm bones, a wrist, and nearly nonexistent fingers that are so small they’ve left scientists puzzled. According to Sarah H. Burch of SUNY Geneseo, “grasping was impossible—this creature couldn’t manipulate anything with such a reduced hand. The joint structure suggests great mobility at the elbow and wrist, but the individual digits likely couldn’t move independently.”
9. It breathed like a bird.
Chickens breathe much more efficiently than we do. Their lungs connect to a network of air sacs, which store additional oxygen, ensuring a continuous flow of fresh air even during high-altitude flights. These air sacs also link to hollow bones: if you crack open a dead bird’s spinal column, you’ll find several vertebrae lined with air sacs. Special indentations on Majungasaurus’ vertebrae reveal it had a similar system.
10. Majungasaurus and its ancient companions inspired a charitable cause.
David Krause, a paleontologist at Stony Brook University, is known for the replica Majungasaurus mount that greets visitors in the administration lobby. Since 1991, Krause has been conducting digs in Madagascar, playing a key role in uncovering the skull mentioned earlier. He also contributed significantly to the discovery of a strange, crocodile-like plant-eater and a 10-pound frog that likely fed on baby dinosaurs.
Krause and his team have mostly worked in the same area of Madagascar for years, receiving steadfast support from the local community. In response, Krause began exploring ways to give back. He recalled to National Geographic, “One day, I met with the village leaders to see how we could assist them. Their top priority was education for their children.” His team immediately took action. “When they told me hiring a teacher, which cost about $500 annually, was a starting point, it was a no-brainer. I went back to camp, and we raised the teacher's salary right then.”
In 1998, Krause established the Madagascar Ankizy Fund (named after the Malagasy word for children). This initiative has been responsible for building schools and providing critical healthcare in one of the world’s most impoverished nations.
