Dinosaur genus
Malawisaurus
Malawisaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 121.4–113.2 million years old, in Malawi.
medium
medium: Only Wikidata gives this; nothing contradicts it.Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.
At a glance
Data as of 11 October 2026- Named by
- Jacobs et al. 1993
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- L. L. Jacobs, D. A. Winkler, W. R. Downs, E. M. Gomani (1993). New material of an Early Cretaceous titanosaurid sauropod dinosaur from Malawi. Palaeontology 36(3): 523–534.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Jacobs et al. 1993).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
- Lived
- Aptian, 121.4–113.2 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation121.4–113.2 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 8 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- Malawi
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (8 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Dinosaur Beds
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (8 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Parent group
- Lithostrotia
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Species named in its records
- Malawisaurus dixeyi
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
- Diet
- herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Sauropoda, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Way of life
- ground dwelling, gregarious (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Sauropoda; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Known from
- Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
- Order: no source we use gives it yet.
- Family: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB); common names (Wikidata); diet (PBDB).
Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.
Did it meet…?
No. Malawisaurus had gone at least 29.6 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Connections
Genera linked to Malawisaurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.
Same rocks, same time 1
Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Same parent group: Lithostrotia 8
Other genera in Lithostrotia with a full profile.
Found in Malawi 1
Other genera found in Malawi, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines
Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.