Play store
A newly identified dinosaur species discovered in Zimbabwe is providing fresh insights into the early evolution and diversification of dinosaurs, suggesting that southern Africa once hosted several distinct ecosystems rather than a single uniform habitat, scientists said on Wednesday.
The new species, Musango matusadonaensis, was identified from a remarkably well-preserved skeleton unearthed in 2018 near the shores of Lake Kariba in northern Zimbabwe. It is the fifth dinosaur species to be discovered in the country.
According to an international team of palaeontologists, Musango lived around 210 million years ago during the Late Triassic Period, a time when dinosaurs were beginning to spread across the globe but had not yet become the dominant terrestrial animals.
Unlike the massive long-necked dinosaurs that appeared millions of years later, Musango was relatively small and lightly built. It measured about 4.5 metres (15 feet) in length and weighed approximately 222 kilograms (490 pounds), roughly the weight of a fully grown pig.
The dinosaur was named Musango, after the Shona word meaning “living in the bush.”
Researchers say the discovery challenges the long-held belief that dinosaur species across southern Africa were largely similar.
“Until recently, it was assumed that the dinosaurs living across southern Africa were largely the same,” said Paul Barrett, a researcher at the Natural History Museum in London.
Instead, the findings indicate that the region was made up of multiple ecosystems, each supporting different dinosaur species.
“This suggests that what we’ve discovered so far is only the tip of the iceberg,” Barrett said.
The study has been published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
The fossil is one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons of its age ever found in Zimbabwe, preserving bones from the spine, ribs, limbs and feet.
Scientists estimate Musango was around eight years old and nearly fully grown when it died. The fossil also revealed evidence that the animal had survived a serious injury or infection before its death.
Although its skull has not yet been recovered, researchers believe Musango was likely either a herbivore or an omnivore, feeding on vegetation growing along rivers and streams.
Zimbabwe has become an increasingly important site for dinosaur research in recent years. In 2022, scientists announced the discovery of Mbiresaurus raathi, believed to be Africa’s oldest known dinosaur. That species lived around 230 million years ago, stood about one metre tall, had a long tail and weighed up to 30 kilograms.
