Musankwa sanyatiensis is just the fourth dinosaur species ever found from Zimbabwe.
Musankwa would have lived in a swampy woodland 210 million years ago. Image © Atashni Moopen.
An ancient relative of the largest ever land animals has revealed new insights into the rise of the dinosaurs.
Though Musankwa sanyatiensis is just the fourth dinosaur ever found from Zimbabwe, it suggests there may be more species to find in southern Africa.
A 210-million-year-old dinosaur leg uncovered in Zimbabwe might be the tip of the iceberg for new fossil discoveries in the region.
Found on the shores of Spurwing Island in Lake Kariba, Musankwa sanyatiensis may not look like much. It’s far from complete, preserving only the thigh, shin and ankle bones, and missing many of the characteristics that could reveal more about this dinosaur’s life.
However, its very existence suggests that rich fossil beds in South Africa might extend further north than expected. This could mean that there are many more African dinosaurs just waiting to be discovered.
Dr Kimi Chapelle, a co-author of the research from Stony Brook University, says that this is because fewer people have historically looked for dinosaurs in the region.
“African dinosaur fossils are underrepresented as a result of undersampling compared to other areas of the world,” Kimi says. “As a result, Musankwa sanyantiensis is the first dinosaur of its kind from Zimbabwe, and just the fourth dinosaur species ever found in the whole country.”
“It highlights just how much potential the region has for further palaeontological discoveries.”
The Natural History Museum’s Professor Paul Barrett, the study’s lead author, adds that Zimbabwe could be “a potential gold mine” for researchers looking to investigate the diversification of the dinosaurs.
“This species is pretty old, dating back to the Late Triassic when the dinosaurs were getting larger and starting to dominate ecosystems,” Paul says. “This is the time when they began to become more diverse and spread around the world, making it an important era to investigate.”
The paper was published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
The researchers named the dinosaur in honour of the boat Musanwka, which they lived on during the expedition where it was discovered. Image © Jonah Choiniere.
How was Musankwa sanyantiensis discovered?
The fossils of Musankwa were discovered during an expedition to northern Zimbabwe in 2018. Having been tipped off about fossils in the region by local safari guide Steve Edwards, Paul and a team of Zimbabwean and South African colleagues set out to see what they could find.
While palaeontologists generally stick to dry land, searching the islands and shores of Lake Kariba needed a boat. Fortunately, the owners and crew of the Musankwa were able to provide them with a houseboat that doubled as a floating laboratory.
The team uncovered a variety of fossils, including the remains of crocodile-like phytosaurs, conifer trees and ancient amphibians. These fossils suggest that 210 million years ago the area would have been a swampy woodland filled with water channels, with dinosaurs lurking among the trees.
“We were on the shoreline of Spurwing Island when I noticed these leg bones just sticking out of the ground,” Paul says. “After we excavated the fossils, we realised it was quite different from the dinosaurs you might expect to find in the area.”
“I’ve named many species in my career, but this is the first time I’ve described a dinosaur that I found myself.”
In recognition of the help the researchers received, the genus of the new dinosaur was named after the boat. The species name, meanwhile, reflects one of the rivers flowing into Lake Kariba, the Sanyati.
Only one leg of Musankwa has been discovered so far, limiting attempts to learn about its lifestyle. Image © Paul Barrett.
While the state of the fossil’s preservation makes it hard to be certain about many aspects of this dinosaur, the team have a few clues. The leg is that of a sauropodomorph, a group which are early relatives of the sauropods, the largest dinosaurs that ever lived.
The fossil’s structure suggests that Musankwa was probably around 1.5 metres high at the hips and walked on two feet. Using estimates based on other sauropodomorphs of a similar size, the team believe that the dinosaur weighed around 386 kilogrammes, or about the same as a horse.
But the most interesting discovery is that Musankwa might have been part of a group of dinosaurs that lived across South America and Africa when the landmasses were joined together in the supercontinent of Gondwana.
“There was a hint from our evolutionary trees that it might be linked to Riojasaurus from Argentina and Eucnemesaurus from South Africa,” Paul explains. “It might mean these animals were a widespread, cosmopolitan group of dinosaurs able to move back and forth between what is now South America and southern Africa.”
“If this is the case, then it’s possible that Musankwa could be found elsewhere. It’s a tantalising prospect, but as the relationship was only found in some of our evolutionary trees we’ll need more evidence to confirm it.”
The team hope that the new species will drive further interest in Zimbabwe’s dinosaurs, and lead to more complete skeletons of Musankwa and other new species being unearthed. With these fossils, palaeontologists will get an even better look at a major turning point in the history of life on Earth.
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