Zimbabwe’s dinosaurs were different from South Africa’s: new species offers clues
Election
Originally published by The Conversation – Articles (AFRICA) — Read the original article →
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. Palaeontologists 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.
The first African dinosaur fossils to be noted scientifically hailed from the Eastern Cape, South Africa and were described in the 1850s. Since then, the African dinosaur map has expanded, with rich fossil beds in South Africa, Lesotho, Tanzania, Egypt, Niger, Malawi, Madagascar and Morocco.
