AUSSIE DINOSAUR GUIDE
FOSSIL discoveries have led to the naming of 23 dinosaurs in Australia. Here are some of the most significant:
AUSTRALOVENATOR WINTONENSIS
Pronunciation: Oss-trahlow-ven-ah-tore win-tonennsiss
Period: Middle Cretaceous
Location: Elderslie station near Winton in Queensland in 2006. Found: The most complete non-avian theropod skeleton found in Australia, the discovery included the almostcomplete arms, hands, legs and feet, several back and belly ribs, the paired front halves of the lower jaw, and several teeth.
Description: A mediumsized predator, about 1.6m tall at the hips and 5-6m long from tip to tail. Its long, muscular legs would have allowed it to run fast, although not as quickly as modern emus. Australovenator would have been agile. Its jaws were lightly built and its teeth were serrated but rather small. Its most dangerous weapons were its arms, each hand bearing three fingers and each finger bearing a wickedly curved claw. The inner two claws were large and strong.
AUSTROSAURUS MCKILLOPI
Pronunciation: Oss-troesore-us mah-kill-opp-eye Period: Early Cretaceous Location: Clutha station, north of Maxwelton,
Queensland, in 1932 and in 2014-15.
Found: Back vertebrae and rib bones. Description: A sauropod, about 3.5m tall at the hips and shoulders, with a total length of 1215m. Austrosaurus was a titanosauriform, a big group of sauropods which includes brachiosaurus, titanosaurs and their relatives.
KUNBARRASAURUS IEVERSI
Pronunciation: Koonbar-rah-sore-us eye-verseye
Period: Early Cretaceous Location: Marathon Station near Richmond, Queensland in 1989. Found: The most complete non-avian dinosaur skeleton discovered in Australia and one of the most complete ankylosaurs in the world. The skeleton includes an almostcomplete skull, vertebrae from the neck right down to the middle of the tail, most of the left shoulder and arm, the pelvis, both thigh bones and an almost-complete set of armour, comprising large spikes. Even the stomach contents were preserved. Description: An ankylosaur, a group of four-legged, herbivorous dinosaurs, closely related to stegosaurs. The gut contents included remains of primitive flowering plants.
MUTTABURRASAURUS LANGDONI
Pronunciation: Muttah-burr-ah-sore-us langdon-eye
Period: Early Cretaceous Location: Roseberry Downs Station near Muttaburra, Queensland in 1963.
Description: A mediumsized ornithopod, about 7-8m long and 2.5m tall, which would have been just as capable of walking on its back legs as on all fours. Its snout, which bears a raised bump, is its most distinct feature.
The raised bump might have housed a hollow chamber that is suspected of either enhancing the herbivore’s sense of smell or amplifying its voice. The jaws of
Muttaburrasaurus would have been capable of delivering powerful bites. The horny beak at the front of the mouth was used to snip and pluck at very tough plant material, and grinding teeth behind were perfectly for pulverising plant matter and easing digestion.
FOSTORIA DHIMBANGUNMAL
Pronunciation: Foss-toreee-a dim-baan goon-mal Period: Late Cretaceous Location: An opal mine at the Sheepyard opal field near Lightning Ridge, NSW in 1984 Found: About 100 bones of at least four dinosaurs, the first herd or family group discovered in Australia. The bones include ribs, arms, skull, back, tail, hips and legs. Description: About 60 of the bones are thought to be from an adult about 4.8m long, while the others are thought to be from juveniles. About the length of an elephant, it was a plant eater thought to have walked on its hind limbs but it sometimes used all four of its legs. discoveries. “We’re starting to get a better idea of the ecosystem – what was around – we’ve got plants, shells and other fossils,” he says.
Paleontologists are often tipped off by farmers who come across fossils on their land. This was the case with the discovery of the most complete skeleton of a pterosaur in Australia in 2017.
Nicknamed the Iron Dragon, the fossilised remains of the winged beast were found by Winton grazier Bob Elliott when he was spraying weedkiller along the banks of a creek.