A newly described species of titanosaur with a philia - mold tail is assist scientists understand how ecosystems on continental Africa evolved 100 million twelvemonth ago during the Cretaceous menstruum .
DubbedMnyamawamtukamoyowamkia ( Mm - nya - ma - wah - mm - too - ka mm - oh - yo - wa - mm - key fruit - ah ) – we wo n’t try you for skimming over that one – the long - necked sauropod dinosaur was found in the drop-off along Tanzania ’s Mtuka River . Its spit - tornado name is from the Kiswahili ( Swahili ) word meaning “ beast of the Mtuka ” and “ heart of the tail ” given its heart - shaped tail .
This particular specimen is exceptionally well - preserved and one of the most complete – especially from Africa . Partial remains were preserved from every major consistency region , including rib , parts of the spine , limb bone , and tooth . Titanosaurs were the most abundant and far-flung chemical group of sauropod dinosaur and the largest terrene animals ever to survive . Their populations peaked at a clip when all other sauropod groups had vanished , but their evolution is badly understood because of a lack of well - preserved dodo and , of those that have been found , most were dig up in South America .
" Although titanosaurian became one of the most successful dinosaur chemical group before the ill-famed mountain extinction cap the Age of Dinosaurs , their other evolutionary history remains obscure , andMnyamawamtukahelps enjoin those beginning , especially for their African - side of the story , " state pencil lead generator Eric Gorscak in astatement . " The wealth of information from the skeleton indicates it was distantly relate to other know African titanosaur , except for some interesting similarities with another dinosaur , Malawisaurus , from just across the Tanzania - Malawi border . ”
First discovered in 2004 in a gamey cliff over the river bottom , researchers excavated the clay over the course of four years . It ’s the third species to be depict from southwestern Tanzania and is described as a “ four - dimensional connect the Elvis ” , kick in to our sympathy of what ecosystems on continental Africa were like at the time , as well as how titanosaurs were spread around the world .
“ Each fresh discovery adds a bit more detail to the picture of what ecosystems on continental Africa were like during the Cretaceous , allowing us to assemble a more holistic purview of biotic change in the past tense , ” said Gorscak .
The study was published inPLOS One .
