Scientists are sharing the details of a newly discovered dinosaur
Paleontologists are calling it 'Musango,' which is named after the houseboat they used on the expedition. The fossils were found in 2018, but the research was just published in July.
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Musango was discovered on the shore of Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe and according to the Museum of Natural History, is a rare find, as the country has a relatively unknown palaeontological past.
Officials say the dinosaur only stood about 5-feet tall at the hip, but was an early version of the reptiles that evolved into much larger, long-necked dinosaurs like the brontosaurus.
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Musango lived more than 200 million years ago and research suggests it was likely related to fossils found in Argentina and South Africa.
“Until recently, it was assumed that the dinosaurs living across southern Africa were largely the same,” said Professor Paul Barrett, the study’s lead author. “However, these discoveries are showing that this part of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana was actually made of a series of smaller ecosystems – each with a different cast of characters.”
That shows the animals were able to spread great distances, and that Africa and the Americas were connected.
