Scientists have discovered a new dinosaur species in Zimbabwe that is providing fresh insight into how dinosaurs evolved and spread across southern Africa more than 210 million years ago.
The newly identified species, Musango matusadonaensis, was identified from a well-preserved skeleton excavated near the shores of Lake Kariba in northern Zimbabwe in 2018. It is the fifth dinosaur species ever discovered in the country.
Researchers say the dinosaur lived during the Late Triassic Period, when dinosaurs were only beginning to spread across the Earth and had not yet become the dominant land animals.
Unlike the massive long-necked dinosaurs that appeared millions of years later, Musango measured about 4.5 metres (15 feet) in length and weighed approximately 222 kilograms (490 pounds).
The name Musango comes from the local Shona language and means "living in the bush."
According to researchers from the Natural History Museum in London, the discovery suggests that southern Africa once consisted of several distinct ecosystems, each supporting different dinosaur species, rather than a single uniform habitat.
The fossil is one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons of its age found in Zimbabwe, with much of its spine, ribs, limbs, and feet preserved. Scientists estimate the animal was about eight years old and nearly fully grown when it died. Evidence from its bones also shows it survived a serious injury or infection before its death.
Although its skull has not been recovered, researchers believe Musango was likely a herbivore or omnivore, feeding on vegetation growing along rivers and streams.
The findings have been published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology and add to Zimbabwe's growing record of important dinosaur discoveries, including Mbiresaurus raathi, Africa's oldest known dinosaur, which was unveiled in 2022.
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