Australotitan coprensis: a previously unknown dinosaur found in Australia

Scott Hocknall of the Queensland Museum is excited – and “Cooper” is why. “The exciting thing for us is that we have now been able to throw our hat in the ring when identifying the largest dinosaurs in the world.” He said Paleontologist in The Sydney Morning Herald. You are not dealing with the largest dinosaur in the world, but you are dealing with a member of the top ten.

It’s the remains of a gigantic skeleton that the researcher cheers on. With a length of up to 30 meters and a height of six meters from floor to waist, the previously unknown dinosaur is a true giant of the Cretaceous period.

Bones of herbivores, which lived about 95 million years ago, were discovered 15 years ago in southwest Queensland. Now she got an official name: Australotitan coprensis – or for short: Cooper. The name owes to the site near the village of Copper Creek. Scientists report on the search for the skeleton in PeerJ magazine.

In order to illustrate the incredible proportions of the giant, the Australian media have resorted to impressive comparisons: the Australutean Cupernsis “has been as long as a basketball court and two stories high,” she said. When sauropods inhabited the land, today Australia still belonged to the great continent of Gondwana.

“There is a huge predatory dinosaur somewhere” – not found yet

Paleontologist Robin McKenzie and her husband Stewart reportedly came across dinosaur bones while collecting livestock on their land in 2006. “We never thought we’d be dealing with Australia’s largest animal and one of the largest in the world,” quoted Broadcaster ABC the Mackenzies.

It took many years to excavate, assemble and identify all the bones. Among other things, Hocknall explained, the latest 3D models have been created using the latest technology.

Experts from Down Under are now hoping for an even bigger sensation: In other parts of the world where giant herbivorous dinosaurs have been found, theropods have also been discovered — giant two-legged carnivores. “There’s a huge predatory dinosaur out there somewhere,” Hocknall said. “We just haven’t found it yet.”