The Eromanga Natural History Museum has confirmed the unearthed Australotitan cooperensis is the largest dinosaur in Australian history.
In 2006, couple Robyn Mackenzie and Stuart discovered dinosaur bones on their property in South-West Queensland.
Now, after 15 years of tedious bone excavation, the Eromanga Natural History Museum has declared the dinosaur species the largest ever found in Australia.
The skeleton has been nicknamed Cooper as it was found near Cooper Creek. Cooper is estimated to have been between 25 to 30 metres long.
To put that in perspective, it is roughly the same length as a basketball court. It also weighed the equivalent of 1,400 red kangaroos.
These impressive measurements put the Australotitan cooperensis within the top 15 largest dinosaurs in the world.
Australia’s largest dinosaur, as long as a basketball court and taller than a b-double truck, has been officially recognised.
Nicknamed Cooper after its 2007 discovery in the Cooper Basin, the titanosaur sauropod has now been scientifically named.https://t.co/jEA9m9RWfY
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) June 7, 2021
Makenzie, a paleontologist, had no idea of the enormity of the skeleton initially, saying: “It wouldn’t have entered our mind that we were about to deal with an animal that was the largest in Australia and one of the largest in the world.”
Researchers found that the Australotitan was closely related to three other Australian sauropods, a dinosaur subgroup known for their enormous sizes. These sauropods lived during the Cretaceous Period (92-96 million years ago).
Minister for Arts Leanne Enoch believes this discovery is beneficial to Queensland’s revival of the tourism industry.
“Queensland Museum experts have been on the ground, sharing their knowledge with regional museums and helping to preserve and better understand the diverse paleontological history of our state…these unique outback discoveries are supporting Queensland as we deliver our economic recovery plan creating local jobs in regional and cultural tourism,” she said.
