10/13/2025
Majungasaurus was a fierce theropod dinosaur that lived about 70–66 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period on the island of Madagascar. Its name means “Mahajanga lizard,” after the region where its fossils were discovered. Reaching around 6–7 meters (20–23 feet) in length and weighing up to 1 ton, Majungasaurus was the top predator of its environment. It belonged to the abelisaurid family—short-skulled, thick-headed carnivores with tiny, stubby arms, similar to Carnotaurus.
Majungasaurus had a short, deep skull with powerful jaws and serrated teeth designed for crushing bone and tearing flesh. Its robust body and muscular legs suggest it was an ambush predator, likely hunting large herbivorous dinosaurs such as Rapetosaurus. Remarkably, fossil evidence shows that Majungasaurus engaged in cannibalism—feeding on members of its own species—making it one of the few dinosaurs known to have done so.
With its bony crest on the top of the skull and rough-textured face, Majungasaurus had a distinctive, intimidating appearance. As one of the last surviving abelisaurids before the mass extinction, it represents the peak of predatory dinosaur evolution in isolated Madagascar.
