Papers Everywhere

Being an ugly cannibal dinosaur has its perks. In the scientific community it has perks at least. The number of papers written about Majungasaurus (including its synonymous genus Majungatholus) is very respectable. The paper regarding cannibalism was shared the other day, though if you cannot find it through an institution of your own it is difficult to find online. I would share it if I had permission to do so, unfortunately it is not my paper. I can point out some other good topics that have been covered though.

The interesting anatomy of Majungasaurus is discussed in detail in a 184 page special memoir entirely dedicated to Majungasaurus crenatissimus published through the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology in 2007. A number of different topics including the appendicular skeleton, phylogney, dentition, and observed pathologies are discussed in the memoir. Particularly interesting to myself is an article on the craniofacial anatomy. The craniofacial anatomy of Majungasaurus is a defining feature of the dinosaur and is covered in depth in the memoir as well. Majungasaurus is a dinosaur with a lot of bumps and nodules on its skull that cause it to look somewhat terrifying and rather interesting at the same time. These morphological oddities have been discussed in passing a number of times by a number of different authors but Sampson and Witmer tackled the topic head on in the memoir The paper discusses the anatomy of the skull in light of a then newly discovered cache of skull material. This entire publication can be found at this link on BioOne, though access to JVP articles is regulated and available to members only without paying for individual articles. I understand that this does not help anyone access the articles mentioned here if they are not members, but this is a one stop source for Majungasaurus information. Those without access can find a similarly populated list here, but please be aware that the list is 5 years old and some links may not work.