| Mbiresaurus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Genus: | †Mbiresaurus Griffinet al.,2022 |
| Species: | †M. raathi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Mbiresaurus raathi Griffinet al., 2022 | |
Mbiresaurus (meaning "Mbire reptile") is anextinctgenus of basalsauropodomorphdinosaur from theLate Triassic (Carnian)Pebbly Arkose Formation ofZimbabwe. The genus contains asingle species,Mbiresaurus raathi, known from a nearly complete skeleton.Mbiresaurus represents one of Africa’s earliest known definitive dinosaurs.[1]
TheMbiresaurusholotype specimen,NHMZ 2222, was discovered in two expeditions in 2017 and 2019 in layers of the Pebbly Arkose Formation onDande Communal Land ofMbire District,Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe, which dates to the lateCarnian age of the late Triassic period. The holotype consists of a mostly complete, partially-articulated skeleton, including a partialskull andlower jaws,cervical,dorsal,sacral, andcaudal vertebrae, fragments ofribs, partialpectoral andpelvic girdles, and partialforelimbs andhindlimbs. A larger referred specimen, NHMZ 2547, was found in association with the holotype.[1]
In 2022, Griffinet al.describedMbiresaurus as 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]
In theirphylogenetic analyses, Griffinet al. (2022) recoveredMbiresaurus as a basal member ofSauropodomorpha. Thecladogram below displays the results of their phylogenetic analyses.[1]
Mbiresaurus is known from thePebbly Arkose Formation of Zimbabwe. Other fossils belonging toHyperodapedon,[2] as well as unnamedaetosaurs,herrerasaurids, andsynapsids (possibledicynodont andgomphodontosuchinetraversodontidcynodont) have also been recovered from the formation.[1]
