WHAT’S that coming over the hill? Is it an Australotitan cooperensis? Possibly not, as it’s been extinct for at least 95 million years. But Australian palaeontologists have now confirmed its existence and said that it was one of the largest dinosaurs that ever lived.
So, is it a monster?
Very droll. It’s certainly monstrous. A member of the titanosaur family – you probably wouldn’t want them moving in next door, would you? – it would have measured 98ft in length and stood 21.3ft tall. Which means it would have been among the ten largest dinosaurs to have ever lived.
“Imagine something the size of a baseball court walking around on land,” one palaeontologist said. It would have weighed in the region of 67 tons. It is the largest dinosaur ever found in Australia.
Not even Anthony Joshua would fancy taking one then.
Well, possibly not, but they were plant-eating creatures, so as long as he didn’t get under their feet …
So, what’s the story?
In 2006 skeletal remains were found in a remote location in south-west Queensland, near the inland river Cooper Creek. Shoulder bones and pelvic bones were found mostly intact. But their fragility meant it took years to remove, prepare, study and verify that this was a previously unknown species.
“Such big, fragile bones literally took years to clean and prepare,” one of the palaeontologists told the Guardian.
Australotitan cooperensis is quite a mouthful. Has it a nickname?
Of course, close friends and palaeontologists call it Cooper.
Cooper was a member of the titanosaur family, you say.
Yes. The Titanosaurs were long-necked, small-headed herbivorous quadrupeds who lived between the late Jurassic epoch and the Cretaceous period. They could range from the Neuquensaurus, a mere 23ft and 11 tons, to the Argentinosaurus which is estimated to have weighed in at 77 tons.
You probably wouldn’t want to invite them over for a barbecue, then.
You’d need to have a decent range of vegetarian options if you did, that’s for sure.
What are the chances of other findings emerging from the ground in Australia?
Well, Queensland Museum vertebrate palaeontologist Dr Scott Hocknull has said there were more sites to survey and potentially more dinosaurs to be found.
“We know that Australotitan – or Cooper – was a plant eater,” Dr Hocknull noted. “So what was marauding around trying to eat these guys?”
I’m not sure I want to know.
The feeling’s mutual.
I’m feeling very inadequate now. Are there any dinosaurs that aren’t the size of a baseball court?
The smallest fully-grown fossil dinosaur is the lesothosaurus, which was only the size of a chicken.
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