Mbiresaurus(meaning "Mbirereptile ") is anextinctgenusof basalsauropodomorphdinosaurfrom theLate Triassic(Carnian)Pebbly Arkose FormationofZimbabwe.The genus contains asingle species,Mbiresaurus raathi,known from a nearly complete skeleton.Mbiresaurusrepresents one of Africa’s earliest known definitive dinosaurs.[1]
| Mbiresaurus Temporal range:
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Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Genus: | †Mbiresaurus Griffinet al.,2022 |
| Species: | †M. raathi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Mbiresaurus raathi Griffinet al.,2022
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Discovery and naming
editTheMbiresaurusholotypespecimen,NHMZ2222,was discovered in two expeditions in 2017 and 2019 in layers of the Pebbly Arkose Formation onDande Communal LandofMbire District,Mashonaland Central Province,Zimbabwe, which dates to the lateCarnianage of the late Triassic period. The holotype consists of a mostly complete, partially-articulated skeleton, including a partialskullandlower jaws,cervical,dorsal,sacral,andcaudal vertebrae,fragments ofribs,partialpectoralandpelvic girdles,and partialforelimbsandhindlimbs.A larger referred specimen, NHMZ 2547, was found in association with the holotype.[1]
In 2022, Griffinet al.describedMbiresaurusas a new genus and species of basal sauropodomorph. Thegeneric name,"Mbiresaurus",combines a reference to the Mbire district of Zimbabwe with theLatin"sauros", meaning "reptile". Thespecific name,"raathi",honorsMichael Raath,one of the discoverers of the fossils, and his contributions to Zimbabwean paleontology.[1]
Classification
editIn theirphylogenetic analyses,Griffinet al.(2022) recoveredMbiresaurusas a basal member ofSauropodomorpha.Thecladogrambelow displays the results of their phylogenetic analyses.[1]
| Saurischia |
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Paleoenvironment
editMbiresaurusis known from thePebbly Arkose Formationof Zimbabwe. Other fossils belonging toHyperodapedon,[2]as well as unnamedaetosaurs,herrerasaurids,andsynapsids(possibledicynodontandgomphodontosuchinetraversodontidcynodont) have also been recovered from the formation.[1]
References
edit- ^abcdeGriffin, 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.doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05133-x.ISSN0028-0836.PMID36045297.S2CID251977824.
- ^Raath, M. A.; Oesterlen, P. M.; Kitching, J. W. (1992). "First record of Triassic Rhynchosauria (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the lower Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe".Palaentologia Africana.29:1–10.CiteSeerX10.1.1.916.6994.