# New Sauropodomorph Dinosaur Musango matusadonaensis Discovered on Shores of Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba

*2026-07-30 02:01 UTC · Science · 1 min read*

> Paleontologists have named a new Late Triassic dinosaur, Musango matusadonaensis, from a 2018 fossil find on the shores of Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba.

An international team of paleontologists led by Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum in London has named a new dinosaur species, Musango matusadonaensis, based on a partial skeleton excavated in 2018 from the shores of Lake Kariba in northern Zimbabwe.

The animal measured 4.5 meters (15 feet) long and weighed roughly 222 kilograms (490 pounds). It lived about 210 million years ago during the Late Triassic and belonged to the early sauropodomorphs, ancestors of later giants such as Diplodocus. It walked on two legs, was around 8 years old and nearly fully grown at death, and its bones show signs of a healed injury or infection. Musango is the fifth dinosaur species named from Zimbabwe.

Researchers say the find points to distinct, separate ecosystems across southern Africa during the Late Triassic rather than one uniform fauna, suggesting greater regional dinosaur diversity than previously documented. The study was published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology on July 29, 2026.

## Sources

- [phys.org](https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-million-year-dinosaur-zimbabwe.html)
- [sci.news](https://www.sci.news/paleontology/musango-matusadonaensis-14955.html)

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