Musankwa sanyatiensis : Dinosaur Fossil
Fossils found on the shoreline of Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe represent a completely new dinosaur species named Musankwa sanyatiensis.
- Musankwa sanyatiensis is a new dinosaur species which has been identified from fossils discovered along the shores of Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe.
- The dinosaur’s genus name, “Musankwa,” was the name of the houseboat scientists used during their expeditions to the research site.
- In addition, its species name, “sanyatiensis,” alludes to the Sanyati River that flows into Lake Kariba.
- It is the first dinosaur to be named from the Mid-Zambezi Basin of northern Zimbabwe in over 50 years.
- Additionally, it is only the fourth dinosaur to be named from Zimbabwe, following the descriptions of “Syntarsus” rhodesiensis in 1969, Vulcanodon karibaensis in 1972, and, most recently, Mbiresaurus raathi in 2022.
- The rocks yielding this new specimen date back to the Late Triassic period, approximately 210 million years ago.
- Musankwa sanyatiensis is represented by the remains of a single hind leg, including its thigh, shin, and ankle bones.
- Evolutionary analysis reveals that it was a member of the Sauropodomorpha, a group of bipedal, long-necked dinosaurs that were widespread during the Late Triassic.
- Interestingly, it appears to be closely related to contemporaries in South Africa and Argentina.
- Weighing in at around 390 kg, the plant-eating Musankwa sanyatiensis was one of the larger dinosaurs of its era and mostly lived in swamp areas.
