Musango

Musango
Temporal range: Late Triassic, Norian
Life restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Unaysauridae
Genus: †Musango
Barrett et al., 2026
Species:
†M. matusadonaensis
Binomial name
†Musango matusadonaensis
Barrett et al., 2026

Musango is an extinct genus of unaysaurid sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Upper Triassic (Norian) Pebbly Arkose Formation of Zimbabwe. The genus contains a single species, Musango matusadonaensis, known from a partial skeleton. Musango represents the fifth dinosaur genus to be named from Zimbabwe.

Discovery and naming

The Musango holotype specimen consists of five dorsal (trunk) vertebrae, at least two sacral (hip) vertebrae, at least 15 caudal vertebrae, dorsal rib fragments, gastralia, three partial chevrons, a left scapula and coracoid (shoulder blade), an incomplete left humerus (forearm bone), a manual ungual (hand claw), a partial left ilium, a right pubis (hip bones), a partial right tibia and fibula (lower leg bones), the left astragalus and calcaneum (ankle bones), a left metatarsal, one pedal phalanx (toe bones), and various indeterminate bone fragments. It was discovered in March 2018 on the margin of Lake Kariba by a South African/Zimbabwean-led expedition, and is permanently accessioned in the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, under the code NHMZ 2583.

In 2026, Paul Barrett and his colleagues described NHMZ 2583 as belonging to a new genus and species of sauropodomorph dinosaurs. The generic name, Musango, refers to the Musango Archosaur Site within the Musango Concession Area near the Musango Safari Camp on the shores of Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, where the holotype was recovered. 'Musango' is a chiShona word meaning 'living in the bush', which can be construed as a reference to the remoteness of the holotype locality. The specific name, matusadonaensis, refers to Matusadona National Park, near the holotype locality.

Musango is the fifth genus of dinosaurs to be named from Zimbabwe, following "Syntarsus" rhodesiensis in 1969, Vulcanodon in 1972, and the contemporary Mbiresaurus in 2022 and Musankwa in 2024.

Description

Based on more complete relatives, Musango was likely an obligate biped. A holotype individual's body length was calculated at about 4.5 meters and its body mass was calculated at about 222 kilograms.

Classification

To determine the relationships of Musango, Barrett et al. (2026) inserted it into the phylogenetic analysis of Barrett et al. (2024). This analysis placed Musango in the clade Unaysauridae, as the sister taxon to Musankwa. A cladogram adapted from their analysis is shown below. Clade names have been inserted based on definitions from Otero & Peyre de Fabrègues (2022) and Apaldetti & Martinez (2022) for clarity.

Plateosauria

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Barrett, P. M.; Botha, J.; Sciscio, L.; Stuart, B. P.; Lovegrove, J.; Munyikwa, D.; Zondo, M.; Broderick, T. J.; Edwards, S. F.; Mbambo, E.; Chapelle, K. E. J.; Dollman, K. N.; Tolan, S.; Choiniere, J. N. (2026). "A new sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Pebbly Arkose Formation (Upper Triassic: Norian) of Kariba, Zimbabwe". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 24 (2) 2678610. doi:10.1080/14772019.2026.2678610.
  2. ↑ Raath, Michael A. (1969). "A new Coelurosaurian dinosaur from the Forest Sandstone of Rhodesia". Arnoldia. 4 (28): 1–25.
  3. ↑ Raath, Michael A. (1972). "Fossil vertebrate studies in Rhodesia: a new dinosaur (Reptilia, Saurischia) from near the Triassic-Jurassic boundary". Arnoldia. 5: 1–2, 4.
  4. ↑ Griffin, Christopher T.; Wynd, Brenen M.; Munyikwa, Darlington; Broderick, Tim J.; Zondo, Michel; Tolan, Stephen; Langer, Max C.; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Taruvinga, Hazel R. (2022-08-31). "Africa's oldest dinosaurs reveal early suppression of dinosaur distribution". Nature. 609 (7926): 313–319. Bibcode:2022Natur.609..313G. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05133-x. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 36045297. S2CID 251977824.
  5. 1 2 Barrett, Paul M.; Chapelle, Kimberley E.J.; Sciscio, Lara; Broderick, Timothy J.; Zondo, Michel; Munyikwa, Darlington; Choiniere, Jonah N. "A new Late Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Mid-Zambezi Basin, Zimbabwe". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 69 (2): 227–241. doi:10.4202/app.01100.2023. hdl:10141/623186.
  6. ↑ Otero, Alejandro; De Fabrègues, Claire Peyre (2022). "Non-sauropodiform Plateosaurians: Milestones Through the "Prosauropod" Bauplan". South American Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs. Springer Earth System Sciences. pp. 51–92. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95959-3_2. ISBN 978-3-030-95958-6.
  7. ↑ Apaldetti, Cecilia; Martínez, Ricardo N. (2022). "South American Non-Gravisaurian Sauropodiformes and the Early Trend Towards Gigantism". South American Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs. Springer Earth System Sciences. pp. 93–130. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95959-3_3. ISBN 978-3-030-95958-6.