Online Reporter
Herald Correspondent
The National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe has announced the discovery of a new dinosaur species, Musango matusadonaensis, the fifth such discovery in the country.
Dating to about 210 million years ago, Musango matusadonaensis lived during the Late Triassic Period.
Its fossilised remains were recovered from the Pebbly Arkose Formation of the Upper Karoo Supergroup in the Musango Concession Area, along the southern shores of Lake Kariba near Matusadonha National Park.
Announcing the find on behalf of an international research team, NMMZ deputy executive director Mr Darlington Munyikwa said the collaborative project began in 2017 with scientists from NMMZ, the Natural History Museum in London, and the Institute of Evolutionary Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
“This discovery further demonstrates Zimbabwe’s exceptional contribution to global knowledge of dinosaur evolution and the early history of terrestrial vertebrates,” Mr Munyikwa said.
First uncovered in the field in 2018, the specimen does not include skull material. However, the recovered postcranial skeleton comprises associated vertebrae, upper limb bones, and hind limb elements.
Analysis of the anatomical features indicates that Musango matusadonaensis was an obligate biped—walking exclusively on two legs.
Scientists estimate the individual was approximately eight years old at the time of its death, measuring about 4.5 metres in length and weighing about 222kg.
Based on comparisons with closely related species, researchers suspect the dinosaur was a herbivore.
The naming of the species reflects its origin: “Musango” refers to the local concession area as well as the Shona word for living in the bush, while “matusadonaensis” honours the nearby Matusadonha National Park.
Late Triassic dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare globally, previously documented in only a small number of countries including Argentina, Brazil, India, and South Africa.
This geological window captures the initial emergence and diversification of dinosaurs following the end-Permian mass extinction event 252 million years ago.
Musango matusadonaensis joins four previously documented Zimbabwean dinosaur species: Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis (1969), Vulcanodon karibaensis (1972), Mbiresaurus raathi (2022), and Musankwa sanyatiensis (2024).
Ongoing investigations across the Zambezi and Limpopo sedimentary basins have also yielded fossilised fish, plants, invertebrates, rhynchosaurs, and early crocodile relatives known as phytosaurs and aetosaurs.
