210-million-year-old dinosaur found in Zimbabwe

Scientists have identified a new dinosaur species from Zimbabwe that is providing fresh insights into how dinosaurs diversified across southern Africa, suggesting the ancient region was home to several distinct ecosystems rather than a single shared habitat.

The newly discovered species, Musango matusadonaensis, is based on a fossil skeleton unearthed on the shores of Lake Kariba in northern Zimbabwe in 2018. It is the fifth dinosaur species to be identified from Zimbabwe.

According to an international team of palaeontologists, Musango lived about 210 million years ago during the Late Triassic Period, when dinosaurs were beginning to spread across the globe but had not yet become the dominant land animals.

Unlike the giant long-necked dinosaurs that evolved millions of years later, Musango was relatively lightly built, measuring about 4.5 metres (15 feet) in length and weighing an estimated 222 kilograms (490 pounds).

The dinosaur was named Musango, from the Shona word meaning "living in the bush."

Paul Barrett, a researcher at the Natural History Museum in London and one of the scientists involved in the study, said the discovery challenges previous assumptions about dinosaur life in southern Africa.

"Until recently, it was assumed that the dinosaurs living across southern Africa were largely the same," Barrett said.

The findings suggest that different dinosaur species occupied separate ecosystems across the region rather than sharing a single environment.

"It suggests that what we've found so far is only the tip of the iceberg," he added.

The research has been published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

Scientists said the fossil is among the most complete dinosaur skeletons of its age ever discovered in Zimbabwe, with well-preserved bones from the spine, ribs, arms, legs and feet.

Analysis indicates that Musango was about eight years old and nearly fully grown when it died. Researchers also found evidence that it had recovered from a serious injury or infection during its lifetime.

Although the dinosaur's skull has not yet been recovered, scientists believe it was probably either a herbivore or an omnivore that fed on vegetation growing along rivers and streams.

The discovery builds on Zimbabwe's growing importance in dinosaur research. In 2022, scientists announced the discovery of Mbiresaurus raathi, regarded as Africa's oldest known dinosaur, which lived around 230 million years ago. The small dinosaur stood about one metre tall, had a long tail and weighed up to 30 kilograms.

Researchers say the latest discovery reinforces Zimbabwe's significance as one of Africa's key fossil sites and suggests that many more prehistoric species may still await discovery beneath the country's ancient rock formations.