Mnyamawamtuka Moyowamkia provides New Clues about the Ecosystems of Africa

An ancient herbivore, called Mnyamawamtuka Moyowamkia, provides some remarkable insights about the African ecosystem.

A plant-eating dinosaur was discovered in Africa in 2004. According to a report published in the journal ‘PLOS ONE’, this ancient herbivore lived about 100 million years ago. The excavations of these historic bones continued through 2008. Fast forward to 2019 and scientists are gathering clues about the African ecosystem using the titan’s remains.

Mnyamawamtuka Moyowamkia

The name ‘Mnyamawamtuka Moyowamkia’ comes from the shape of the dinosaur’s tail. It means animal of the Mtuka with a heart-shaped tail. That’s the reason why the creature is jokingly said to have worn its heart on its tail. The dinosaur is classified as a Titanosaurus: largest animals to walk on the face of the Earth. With its unique bone construction, the 30-foot colossal beast weighed 20 tons and was discovered in Tanzania. It is a type of a Sauropod (a huge, long necked Titanosaurus). The remains of the dinosaur were found in the East-African Rift system in a riverbed. Judy Skog, a member of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Earth Sciences, talked about this discovery and said,

“This new dinosaur gives us important information about African fauna during a time of evolutionary change. The finding offers insights into paleogeography during the Cretaceous. It’s also a timely report of an animal with heart-shaped tail bones during this week of Valentine’s Day.”

Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Earth Sciences, the discovery was made in the overlooking cliff of the seasonally dry Mtuka riverbed.

Titanosaurs

Titanosaurs is the name given to a group of huge long-necked, long-tailed dinosaurs which roamed the lands millions of years ago. The remains if Titanosaurs are usually found in South America from Cretaceous rocks. Patrick O’Connor, a Researcher from Ohio University, elaborated the discovery in the following words:

“The discovery of dinosaurs like Mnyamawamtuka is like doing a four-dimensional connect-the-dots. Each new discovery adds a bit more detail to the picture of what ecosystems in Africa were like during the Cretaceous, allowing us to assemble a more holistic view of biotic change in the past. Without the dedication of several field teams, including some whose members donned climbing gear for the early excavations, the skeleton would have eroded away into the river during intense wet seasons in this part of the East African Rift System.”

Mnyamawamtuka Moyowamkia and the African Ecosystem

The team spent years digging through the rock to retrieve the skeleton. Some even climbed up the dangerous cliff to help. The timely excavation was necessary otherwise erosion would permanently damage the remains in wet seasons. Along with Mnyamawamtuka Moyowamkia, remains of rather odd-looking crocodile relatives were also discovered with exciting clues regarding the early evolution of apes. The discoveries combined give scientists a picture of the ancient African ecosystems as well as a motive to dig around more in the continent in hopes of discovering more clues. Eric Gorscak, a recent Ph.D. Graduate of Ohio University and Research Associate at the Field Museum of Natural History praised the good work by saying,

“The wealth of information from the skeleton indicates that it was distantly related to other known African titanosaurs, except for some interesting similarities with another dinosaur, Malawisaurus, from just across the Tanzania-Malawi border. The discovery of dinosaurs like Mnyamawamtuka is like doing a four-dimensional connect-the-dots. Each new discovery adds a bit more detail to the picture of what ecosystems in Africa were like during the Cretaceous, allowing us to assemble a more holistic view of biotic change in the past.”

Tanzanian Story

The skeleton of M. Moyowamkia tells us a lot about the African part of the huge dinosaur story. Gorscak mentioned that the Tanzanian story is far from over but we know enough to start asking what paleontological and geological similarities and dissimilarities there are with nearby rock units. Revisiting Malawi is my top priority to address these broader, regional questions. With Mnyamawamtuka and other discoveries, I’m not sure to view it as writing or reading the next chapters in the paleontological book of Africa. I’m just excited to see where this story is going to take us.

This is an important progress in uncovering the past of Titanosaurs as there is not much known about these creatures. Titanosaurs were one of the most crucial profitable dinosaur groups of the time before the Age of Dinosaurs came to an end.