- Discovery of Musango matusadonaensis, a new dinosaur species, was made in Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba
- The species lived about 210 million years ago during the Late Triassic period in northern Zimbabwe
- Fossils included parts of a hind leg, found eroding on Spurwing Island in a 2018 expedition
A discovery along the shores of Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba has helped scientists identify a previously unknown dinosaur species that lived around 210 million years ago. The finding is giving researchers new insights into the early evolution of dinosaurs, reported People.
The newly identified species, Musango matusadonaensis, lived in what is now northern Zimbabwe during the Late Triassic period, when dinosaurs were becoming larger, more diverse, and starting to dominate ecosystems. The findings were published in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.
The fossils were discovered during a 2018 expedition to Spurwing Island in Lake Kariba by researchers from Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
The remains included part of a hind leg, including the thigh, shin, and ankle bones, which scientists found were different enough to belong to a previously unknown species.
Lead author Professor Paul Barrett, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London, said he noticed the leg bones while walking along the shoreline as they were eroding out of the ground. He said that after the team excavated the fossils, they realised the dinosaur was quite different from the ones they had expected to find in the area.
Barrett also said that although he had named many species during his career, this was the first dinosaur he had described that he had discovered himself.
Researchers estimate that Musango matusadonaensis stood about 1.5 metres (around 5 feet) tall at the hip, weighed about 390 kilograms (around 860 pounds) and belonged to the sauropodomorph group. These dinosaurs later evolved into the giant long-necked sauropods, some of the largest land animals ever to live.
The dinosaur was named after the houseboat Musankwa, which served as the research team's floating laboratory during the expedition, and the nearby Sanyati River. Evolutionary analyses suggest the species may have been closely related to dinosaurs previously found in Argentina and South Africa, indicating that early dinosaurs were able to spread across connected landmasses.
The researchers said the discovery also highlights how much remains to be explored in Africa. Co-author Dr Kimberley Chapelle said that African dinosaur fossils are underrepresented mainly because fewer people have searched for and excavated them compared with other parts of the world.
She added that Musango matusadonaensis highlights the region's potential for many more paleontological discoveries.
