Scientists discover Australia's largest dinosaur 'Cooper' in Queensland

A new species of giant dinosaur has been discovered in southwest Queensland in Australia. Australotitan cooperensis belonged to a group of dinosaurs known as the titanosaurians, which were the last surviving group of long-necked dinosaurs. Researchers at the Eromanga Natural History Museum (ENHM) and the Queensland Museum published their findings in the PeerJ scientific journal.

Australia's largest dinosaur 'Cooper'

The fossilised skeleton was originally named ‘Cooper’ after the nearby Cooper Creek where it was first discovered by the Mackenzie property owners. Australotitan is the largest known dinosaur species from Australia, said the Queensland Museum. It is estimated to have a height of 5 to 6.5 metres at the hip and a length of 25 to 30 metres as long as a basketball court. It may have weighed anywhere between 23 and 74 tonnes. The study found that all four of the sauropod dinosaurs that lived in Australia around the same time were closely related to each other.

Australotitan belonged to a group of dinosaurs known as the titanosaurians, which were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods and the largest known land-dwelling animals to have ever existed. The new titanosaurian is the largest dinosaur from Australia as represented by osteological remains and based on limb-size comparisons it reached a size similar to that of the giant titanosaurians from South America. The team of researchers used 3D technology to scan each bone of the titanosaurian, which allowed them to digitally compare the bones to those of similar species.

Last month, a team of palaeontologists have reportedly unearthed remains of new species of herbivorous dinosaur buried in Queensland in Australia. The palaeontologists estimate that the fossil remains are 95 million years old, reported by 9 News. They have so far discovered the dinosaur’s vertebrae and the team is optimistic about collecting the remaining skeleton. The remains were uncovered at a site from the Eromanga Natural History Museum.

IMAGE: QLDMuseum/Twitter