New species of dinosaur — among the largest in the world – discovered in Australia

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<strong>It took time, in fact, a full 15 years after its mega-sized bones were first uncovered, for the giant to be named and recognised. The gigantic dinosaur which was discovered in Australia’s outback has now been identified as a new species. Not only that, palaeontologists have concluded that this was among the largest ever dinosaurs to roam the Earth.</strong></p>
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The Australotitan cooperensis was part of the titanosaur family that lived on the planet about 100 million years ago. This species is estimated to have stood at 5-6.5 metres (16-21 feet) high and measured 25-30 metres (82-98 feet) in length, thus making it Australia’s biggest dinosaur.</p>
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According to a report by the news agency AFP, Robyn Mackenzie, a Director of the Eromanga Natural History Museum observed: :Based on the preserved limb size comparisons, this new titanosaur is estimated to be in the top five largest in the world.”</p>
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Australotitan cooperensis fossilised bones were found in2006 on Mackenzie’s family farm which is located about thousand kilometres west of Brisbane in the Eromanga Basin and nicknamed “Cooper”.</p>
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Initially, the discovery was kept a secret while the scientists painstakingly dug up and studied the bones. The skeleton was displayed for the first time to the public in 2007.</p>
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The Queensland Museum palaeontologist Scott Hocknull described the whole process of digging up and studying as a “very long and painstaking task” to confirm the Australotitan was a new species.</p>
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The research which was conducted relied on 3D scan models of bones to compare the dinosaur with its close relatives, was published in the PeerJ journal on June 21.</p>
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Hocknull added that a number of other dinosaur skeletons have been found in the same area. He said that more work was needed as “discoveries like this are just the tip of the iceberg”.</p>