A new species of giant sauropod dinosaur, the largest so far discovered in Australia, has been announced by Queensland scientists at Eromanga in the State’s south-west.
The dinosaur, named Australotitan cooperensis, or ‘the southern titan’, has now been scientifically described and named by palaeontologists at the Queensland Museum and Eromanga Natural History Museum.
Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk said the dinosaur was as long as a basketball court and taller than a B-double heavy vehicle and had now been officially recorded as Australia’s largest dinosaur.
“It sits within the top 10 to 15 largest dinosaurs found across the world,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“The fossilised skeleton was originally nicknamed ‘Cooper’ after Cooper Creek, when it was first discovered in 2007 at Eromanga,” she said.
However, scientists had now been able to publish their findings after a 17-year joint effort between palaeontologists, fossil preparators, geologists and countless volunteers.
Ms Palaszczuk said the Government had allocated millions of dollars to partner with outback tourism operators to promote dinosaur tourism and create jobs as part of Queensland’s plan for economic recovery.
“This is the kind of exposure that money can’t buy for outback tourism,” she said.
“Dinosaur tourism has great potential to create jobs and generate millions of dollars for businesses in west Queensland.”
Scientists compared the three species found to the north, near Winton, and it was found that Australotitan was closely related to three other Australian sauropods that lived during the Cretaceous Period (92 to 96 million years ago).
Minister for the Arts, Leeanne Enoch said the exciting new discovery helped to cement Queensland as Australia’s dinosaur capital.
“Discoveries like Australotitan tell the story of a time when dinosaurs roamed Queensland,” Ms Enoch said.
