Malawisaurus dixeyi is an extinct genus of primitive Titanosaur from Early Cretaceous Malawi. It was 39.4 feet (12 meters) and weighed 1 ton (2,000 lbs). It had a short face and armor.
Discovery[]
Malawisaurus dixeyi was originally described in 1928 by Sidney H. Haughton as a species of Gigantosaurus (an invalid name for the diplodocid currently known as Tornieria). Haughton considered it closely related to the species G. robustus (later the type species of Janenschia). It was found in the "Dinosaur Beds" of Malawi, which are usually considered to be of Barremian-Aptian age based on K–Ar dating, though they have also been suggested to be Late Cretaceous in age based on the vertebrate assemblage, and possibly also the Lupata Group. In 1993 it was placed in the newly named genus Malawisaurus by Louis L. Jacobs and colleagues, based on newly collected material from the locality. The holotype is SAM 7405, a partial skeleton and its type locality is Mwakasyunguti.
Malawisaurus is also known outside of Africa - an isolated tooth possibly belonging to an indeterminate species of Malawisaurus was found in the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)-aged Alcântara Formation of Brazil and was reported on in 2007.
Gallery[]
