Musango, new sauropodomorph from Upper Triassic of Zimbabwe (free pdf)
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Ben Creisler
Jul 29, 2026, 11:45:20 AM (8 days ago) Jul 29
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Ben Creisler
Musango matusadonaensis gen. et sp. nov.
Paul M. Barrett, Jennifer Botha, Lara Sciscio, Brandon P. Stuart, Jack Lovegrove, Darlington Munyikwa, Michel Zondo, Timothy J. Broderick, Steve F. Edwards, Edward Mbambo, Kimberley E. J. Chapelle, Kathleen N. Dollman, Steve Tolan & Jonah N. Choiniere (2026)
A new sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Pebbly Arkose Formation (Upper Triassic: Norian) of Kariba, Zimbabwe
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 24(2): 2678610
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2026.2678610
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2026.2678610#d1e721
Free pdf:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/14772019.2026.2678610
The Upper Triassic Pebbly Arkose Formation of the Mid-Zambezi Basin, Zimbabwe is yielding important evidence of a diverse terrestrial/freshwater biome. A partial, associated skeleton collected from the ‘Musango Archosaur Site’, on the southern margin of Lake Kariba, represents a new taxon of sauropodomorph, Musango matusadonaensis. The specimen consists of vertebrae, pectoral and pelvic girdle elements, and partial fore- and hind limbs. It possesses numerous autapomorphies and is clearly distinct from the sympatric Musankwa sanyatiensis. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Musango and Musankwa in a sister-taxon relationship within the plateosaurian sauropodomorph clade Unaysauridae, although support for this topology is weak. Osteohistological evidence and body mass estimation indicate that the holotype individual of Musango is a small-bodied sub-adult or adult, which had reached at least eight years of age, and whose growth rate was decelerating at the time of death. Contrary to previous suggestions that there were close faunal and biostratigraphical links between the Late Triassic vertebrate faunas of Zimbabwe and South Africa, currently no dinosaur taxa are shared between the Triassic-aged sedimentary units in Zimbabwe and those of the main Karoo Basin. https://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B02E8F4F-D5E7-4DA6-8447-1209131ADA8D
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A new paper:
Free pdf:
Musango matusadonaensis gen. et sp. nov.
Paul M. Barrett, Jennifer Botha, Lara Sciscio, Brandon P. Stuart, Jack Lovegrove, Darlington Munyikwa, Michel Zondo, Timothy J. Broderick, Steve F. Edwards, Edward Mbambo, Kimberley E. J. Chapelle, Kathleen N. Dollman, Steve Tolan & Jonah N. Choiniere (2026)
A new sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Pebbly Arkose Formation (Upper Triassic: Norian) of Kariba, Zimbabwe
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 24(2): 2678610
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2026.2678610
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2026.2678610#d1e721
Free pdf:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/14772019.2026.2678610
The Upper Triassic Pebbly Arkose Formation of the Mid-Zambezi Basin, Zimbabwe is yielding important evidence of a diverse terrestrial/freshwater biome. A partial, associated skeleton collected from the ‘Musango Archosaur Site’, on the southern margin of Lake Kariba, represents a new taxon of sauropodomorph, Musango matusadonaensis. The specimen consists of vertebrae, pectoral and pelvic girdle elements, and partial fore- and hind limbs. It possesses numerous autapomorphies and is clearly distinct from the sympatric Musankwa sanyatiensis. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Musango and Musankwa in a sister-taxon relationship within the plateosaurian sauropodomorph clade Unaysauridae, although support for this topology is weak. Osteohistological evidence and body mass estimation indicate that the holotype individual of Musango is a small-bodied sub-adult or adult, which had reached at least eight years of age, and whose growth rate was decelerating at the time of death. Contrary to previous suggestions that there were close faunal and biostratigraphical links between the Late Triassic vertebrate faunas of Zimbabwe and South Africa, currently no dinosaur taxa are shared between the Triassic-aged sedimentary units in Zimbabwe and those of the main Karoo Basin. https://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B02E8F4F-D5E7-4DA6-8447-1209131ADA8D
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Mickey Mortimer
Aug 2, 2026, 4:19:15 PM (4 days ago) Aug 2
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Did anyone actually download this? Because it's telling me it's only free to view, not download.
Mickey Mortimer
Gunnar Bivens
Aug 2, 2026, 5:09:39 PM (4 days ago) Aug 2
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Here you go Mickey!
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