Unearthed along the shores of Lake Kariba in northern Zimbabwe, a 210-million-year-old fossil skeleton named Musango matusadonaensis has been identified as a new sauropodomorph dinosaur species, challenging long-held assumptions about prehistoric ecosystems across ancient southern Africa during the Late Triassic period.
A project aimed at filling in the palaeontological map of southern Africa has officially added a new chapter to the region’s prehistoric record. Unearthed by an international team of researchers from Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the discovery of Musango matusadonaensis marks only the fifth dinosaur species ever formally named from Zimbabwe.
Navigating Lake Kariba to Uncover a New Species
During the initial excavation in 2018, the researchers did not immediately realize they were dealing with a dinosaur. Exposed bones emerging from the ground initially resembled those of a non-dinosaurian archosaur—a broader reptile group that includes modern crocodilians and the early ancestors of dinosaurs. Paul Barrett, a researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, suspected the bones might belong to something entirely new as the skeleton was slowly revealed.
“It’s always exciting knowing you’re the first person to recognize something that’s literally never been seen by human eyes before.”
Paul Barrett, Natural History Museum in London
Anatomy, Age, and Survival on the Late Triassic Floodplains
Living approximately 210 million years ago during the Norian Stage of the Late Triassic period, Musango matusadonaensis measured roughly 4.5 meters (about 15 feet) in length and weighed around 220 kilograms, making it roughly comparable in weight to a fully grown pig while stretching as long as a family car. The animal belonged to the early sauropodomorphs, an evolutionary group that eventually gave rise to colossal long-necked herbivores like Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, and Apatosaurus. Scientists believe Musango moved primarily on two slender legs, granting it the agility needed to navigate seasonal landscapes.
The recovered partial skeleton includes well-preserved bones from the spine, ribs, shoulders, hips, and limbs. Microscopic examination of a thin section of the dinosaur’s fibula revealed that the animal was approximately eight years old and nearly fully grown at the time of its death. Furthermore, the bones showed that Musango had survived a serious injury or infection, developing normal bone over the affected area before continuing to grow. While the skull was not recovered, researchers deduce it was likely a herbivore or omnivore based on its evolutionary relatives.
Challenging Assumptions About Prehistoric African Ecosystems
The formal description of the species, published in the Egyptian Gazette, upends decades-old paleontological assumptions. Previously, scientists operated under the broad assumption that Late Triassic dinosaurs living across southern Africa were largely uniform, matching species found in South Africa’s main Karoo Basin. However, researchers have not identified a single dinosaur taxon shared between Zimbabwe’s deposits and those in South Africa, despite the geographic proximity.
This distinct separation indicates that the ancient supercontinent Gondwana was broken down into a series of smaller, localized ecosystems, each supporting its own distinct cast of prehistoric characters. Environmental differences likely drove this regionalization, with Musango’s northern Zimbabwe region featuring semi-arid conditions while comparable South African sites preserved wetter river environments.
“It suggests that what we’ve found so far is only the tip of the iceberg.”
Paul Barrett, Natural History Museum in London
With additional fossil material already awaiting formal description and reports of other unexamined remains surfacing from the region, researchers anticipate that Africa’s prehistoric biodiversity will continue to expand as future fieldwork fills in the remaining blank spots on the map.
