By Naledi Nyoni
KARIBA — Scientists have identified a previously unknown dinosaur species from fossils unearthed along the shores of Lake Kariba, a discovery that is reshaping understanding of how the earliest dinosaurs evolved and spread across the ancient world.
Named Musango matusadonaensis, the dinosaur lived about 210 million years ago during the Late Triassic period in what is now northern Zimbabwe, when dinosaurs were becoming larger, more diverse and beginning to dominate Earth’s ecosystems.
Findings were published in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.
Researchers from Zimbabwe, South Africa and the United Kingdom uncovered the fossils during a 2018 expedition to Spurwing Island in Lake Kariba.
Recovered remains included part of a hind leg comprising the thigh, shin and ankle bones.
Analysis showed the fossils belonged to a previously unknown species.
Lead author Professor Paul Barrett, a palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum in London, said he spotted the bones eroding from the shoreline while surveying the island.
After the fossils were excavated, researchers realised the dinosaur differed significantly from species previously identified in the region.
Barrett said Musango matusadonaensis was the first dinosaur he had both discovered and formally described during his career.
Researchers estimate the dinosaur stood about 1.5 metres at the hip and weighed around 390 kilograms.
It belonged to the sauropodomorph group, whose descendants later evolved into the giant long-necked sauropods, among the largest land animals ever to walk the Earth.
Scientists named the species after the expedition houseboat Musankwa and the Matusadona area where the fossils were found.
Evolutionary analysis suggests the dinosaur was closely related to species previously identified in Argentina and South Africa, supporting evidence that early dinosaurs dispersed across connected landmasses before the continents separated.
Co-author Dr Kimberley Chapelle said Africa remained one of the least explored regions for dinosaur fossils despite its rich geological record.
She said the discovery of Musango matusadonaensis highlighted the continent’s potential to yield many more important palaeontological discoveries.
