A large dinosaur fossil discovered in Australia in 2006 has been formally identified as a model of a new species and is one of the largest known animals to walk on the surface of the world.
25 to 30 meters long and 5 to 6.5 meters high! This dinosaur belongs to the group of dinosaurs that lived almost 100 million years ago.
“In terms of limb size comparisons, this new titanosaur is one of the five largest in the world,” said Robin McKenzie of the Iromanga Natural History Museum in southwest Queensland (northeast).
Fossil bones were discovered in 2006 on Robin McKenzie’s family farm in the Eromanga Basin, a thousand miles west of Brisbane, and the skeleton was named “Cooper”, a state river.
The discovery was initially kept secret while researchers patiently excavated the site. The skeleton was first displayed to the public in 2007.
A “very long and difficult” process
Scott Hocknell, an archaeologist at the Queensland Museum, explained that confirming that Cooper actually belonged to a new species was the result of a “very long and arduous process.”
The study, which compared 3D comparisons of Cooper’s bones with those of his close relatives, was published in the scientific journal Birge on Monday.
Many more dinosaur bones have been found in the same area and more excavations are needed, Hohnul said. “Discoveries like this are only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
Patagonian Titan
Mayor, the “Patagonian Titan”, the largest dinosaur boat known to date, was discovered in Argentina and described in 2017.
Paleontologists estimate that it weighs about 70 tons, equivalent to about 10 African elephants, and is 37 meters long and eight meters long.