Zimbabwe's Ancient Dinosaurs Were Nothing Like Scientists Expected

Scientists expected Zimbabwe’s fossil beds to yield familiar South African dinosaurs, but the newly named Musango is helping reveal a distinct prehistoric community.

Africa boasts up to 25% of Earth’s animal and plant species . This diversity is driven by diverse habitats: harsh deserts, vast grasslands, dense forests, towering mountains, lush coastlines, and teeming seas. It is also due to deep evolutionary roots, as many animal and plant groups originated here in the distant past. Paleontologists have been excavating this material for nearly two centuries .

Africa is most famous for spectacular hominid fossils that reveal our own ancestry. However, the continent boasts many fabulous fossil finds, including those of the most familiar extinct animals – dinosaurs.