Malawisaurus
Malawisaurus was a long-necked plant eater that stomped through ancient Africa. It was smaller than many of its giant cousins, but still as long as a bus! It had bony plates in its skin, like armor.1
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Fun facts
Malawisaurus had a blunter snout than most other sauropods, which is unusual for this group.2
Its teeth were flattened, not pencil-shaped like many other sauropods. This suggests that pencil-shaped teeth evolved more than once in sauropods.2
Bony plates called ossicles have been found with Malawisaurus, which probably covered its skin like armor.1
The vertebrae in the middle of its tail were longer than those in other parts, which is a unique feature.1
Malawisaurus lived about 121 to 113 million years ago, during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous.4
An isolated tooth from Brazil might belong to Malawisaurus, which would mean it also lived in South America.1
Most asked questions about Malawisaurus
?How big was Malawisaurus?
About 15 metres (49 feet) long and weighed about 10 tonnes (11 short tons), though a 2020 estimate gave a smaller size of 11 metres (36 feet) and 2.8 tonnes (3.1 short tons).1
?Where did Malawisaurus live?
It lived in what is now northern Malawi in Africa, during the Early Cretaceous period about 121 to 112 million years ago.13
?What did Malawisaurus eat?
It was an herbivore, meaning it ate plants.3
?Did Malawisaurus have armor?
Yes, bony plates called ossicles or dermal scutes were found with the skeleton, suggesting it had armor in its skin like some other titanosaurs.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Malawisaurus was a giant like Argentinosaurus.
Truth: Malawisaurus was actually one of the smaller sauropods, reaching only about 11 to 15 metres long.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Malawisaurus
- Named by
- Jacobs et al. 19934
- Group
- Long-necks
- Family / clade
- Lithostrotia4
- Classification
- Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria4
- Age of the rocks
- 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)4
- Rock formations
- Dinosaur Beds4
- Countries
- Malawi4
- Fossil records
- 8 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- The first fossils were found around 1924 in Malawi, and Sidney H. Haughton named the species in 1928. In 1993, Louis L. Jacobs and colleagues gave it the new name Malawisaurus after more bones were found.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if Malawisaurus lived in South America too, because only a single tooth from Brazil might belong to it.1
Where the facts come from
- Malawisaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- New material of an Early Cretaceous titanosaurid sauropod dinosaur from Malawi | The Palaeontological Association (palass.org)
- Malawisaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Malawisaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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