Scientists have announced that they have uncovered a new species of dinosaurs. They were able to achieve this feat thanks to a 10-year study of bones that were unearthed in Australia.
The research was conducted by scientists from the Eromanga Natural History Museum and the Queensland Museum. The team has named the new species “Cooper,” which is a nickname for its scientific name. They claim that the species lived during the Cretaceous period, between 92 and 96 million years ago.
Largest species in the continent
The research suggests that the huge dinosaur had a height of 5-6.5 meters at the hip. It reached 25-30 m in length, which is approximately as long as a basketball court and tall as a double-story building.
It is now officially the largest species ever discovered on the continent. The species also holds the record for being in the top five in the world. The scientific moniker of the species is “Australotitan cooperensis,” which translates to “southern titan.”
Cooperensis word is derived from the name of a small river located in the Eromanga region of Queensland, Australia. The bones were found by a family on their farm around 15 years ago. Though the bones are big in size, they are fragile, making them hard to handle without breaking. It is one of the reasons why it took several years to recover the bones.
Computer technology helped analysis
The team of the Eromanga Natural History Museum and Queensland Museum analyzed the bones leveraging advanced technology. It also helped the team compare Cooper species bones to other species.
Other dinosaur skeletons and a travel path were also found in the same area as the bones. Researchers will be carrying out detailed studies into them as well.
Recently, researchers found a new plant-eating giant dinosaur species in the world’s driest Atacama desert in Chile. The new species is named Arackar licanantay and belongs to the titanosaur dinosaur family tree. However, the species is unique due to its dorsal vertebrae. The study suggests that the species lived in the Atacama Region, 80 to 66 million years ago.
