Researchers have uncovered fossils in Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe, Africa, leading to the discovery of a new dinosaur species in rocks dating back 210 million years.
The species, dubbed Musankwa sanyatiensis by researchers, was discovered on Lake Kariba’s shoreline, according to a study published Thursday in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
The fossilized remains of one of the species’ hind legs were found embedded in rocks, including part of the dinosaur’s “thigh, shin, and ankle bones,” according to a press release from Wits University.
The rock that held the new species dates back approximately 210 million years to the Late Triassic period, the release reveals. (RELATED: Paleontologists Discover New Dinosaur Species)
“The discovery of Musankwa sanyatiensis is particularly significant as it is the first dinosaur to be named from the Mid-Zambezi Basin of northern Zimbabwe in over 50 years,” the press release reads.
“Despite the limited fossil material, these bones possess unique features that distinguish them from those of other dinosaurs living at the same time,” Dr. Kimberley “Kimi” Chapelle, a Stony Brook University assistant professor and an Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits honorary associate, said, according to the press release.
Welcome to the world Musankwa sanyatiensis! 🦕🇿🇼
What a pleasure it has been to be involved in this project, from the beginning, all the way to seeing it published today. Congrats, and thank you team! https://t.co/x2cUvAIv10— Kimi Chapelle (@Kimi_Chap) May 30, 2024
The study was led by the Natural History Museum in London’s Professor Paul Barrett supported by an international team of researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, Zimbabwe’s Natural History Museum and Stony Brook University in New York, the press release notes.
The name of the plant-eating dinosaur comes from the houseboat “Musankwa,” which the research team used as a mobile laboratory and residence during their “two field expeditions to Lake Kariba in 2017 and 2018,” the press release continues. Musankwa is of the Tonga dialect and translates to “boy close to marriage.”
The Musankwa sanyatiensis was one of the largest dinosaurs when it existed on Earth, weighing in at around 390 kg or roughly 860 pounds, the press release notes.
