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| Musankwa sanyatiensis Barrett, Chapelle, Sciscio, Broderick, Zondo, Munyikwa & Choiniere, 2024 |
An articulated partial hind limb collected from the Pebbly Arkose Formation (Norian, Upper Triassic) of the Upper Karoo Group of Zimbabwe is described as a new taxon of sauropodomorph dinosaur. Musankwa sanyatiensis gen. et sp. nov. was discovered on the shoreline of Lake Kariba, on Spurwing Island in the Mid-Zambezi Basin. The holotype consists of a right femur, tibia, and astragalus, and can be distinguished from all other Late Triassic massopodan sauropodomorphs on the basis of numerous features, which form a unique character combination. Phylogenetic analysis recovers the new taxon as the earliest-branching lineage within Massopoda. Musankwa is only the fourth dinosaur to be named from the Karoo-aged basins of Zimbabwe and further demonstrates the high potential of this region for discoveries of new early dinosaur material.
Key words: Sauropodomorpha, Massopoda, Pebbly Arkose Formation, Norian, Lake Kariba.
Sauropodomorpha Huene, 1932
Massopoda Yates, 2007
Genus Musankwa nov.
Etymology: In reference to the house-boat “Musankwa”, from the Tonga dialect, meaning “boy close to marriage”; see SOM 5: fig. S1. This
vessel acted as our home and mobile laboratory during two field expeditions to Lake Kariba in 2017–2018, and was made available through
the generosity of David and Julie Glynn. Its crew, Coster Katupu, Godfrey Swalika, Simbarashe Mangoroma, and Never Mapira, provided
essential logistic support.
Musankwa sanyatiensis gen. et sp. nov.
Etymology: Named for the Sanyati River, whose original course is now submerged in the Sanyati Basin of Lake Kariba, in which the type locality (Spurwing Island) is situated.
Paul M. Barrett, Kimberley E. J. Chapelle, Lara Sciscio, Timothy J. Broderick, Michel Zondo, Darlington Munyikwa, and Jonah N. Choiniere. 2024. 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
