A paper published this week in the online scientific journal Paleontology and Evolutionary Science detailed their findings.
Credit: Vladislav Konstantinov / Scott Hocknull/ Eromanga Museum/ Queensland Museum
“Australotitan cooperensis adds to the growing list of uniquely Australian dinosaur species discovered in Outback Queensland, and just as importantly showcases a totally new area for dinosaur discovery in Australia,” said Dr. Scott Hocknull, lead researcher at the Queensland Museum and the University of Melbourne, in a press release.
Titanosaurs are a diverse bunch and includes species ranging from huge terrestrial vertebrates down to smaller sauropods not much bigger than modern-day elephants. When it was alive, Australotitan measured between 82-98 feet long, stood 16.4-21.3 feet high, and had a total mass of somewhere between 23 and 74 tons.
“This discovery and scientific finding will put outback Queensland on the map as one of the world’s leading destinations for dinosaur tourism," said Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.