Diamantinasaurus

Dee-ah-man-teen-ah-sore-us.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Diamantinasaurus (Diamantina River lizard).

Phonetic

Dee-ah-man-teen-ah-sore-us.

Named By

Scott Hocknull et al. - 2009.

Classification

Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria, Sauropoda, Titanosauria, Titanosauroidea, Lithostrotia.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

D. matildae

Size

Estimated 15-16 meters long.

Known locations

Australia, Queensland, Winton Formation.

Time Period

Albian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial remains.

In Depth

       Diamantinasaurus along with Wintonotitan were the first sauropod dinosaurs discovered in Australia since the discovery of Austrosaurus over seventy-five years earlier. Diamantinasaurus has the nickname ‘Matilda’ and this along with the type species D. matildae, are in reference to the folk song ‘Waltzing Matilda’.

       Much of the skeleton of Diamantinasaurus is still unknown. There is no known skull, and the vertebrae are missing. Only parts of the limbs, ribs, shoulder blade have been recovered, but they do indicate that Diamantinasaurus was one of the titanosaurids. They also show the presence of a thumb claw, something which is not normally seen in titanosaurians.

       Another dinosaur, the theropod Australovenator was also found in close proximity to the remains of Diamantinasaurus.

Further Reading

– New Mid-Cretaceous (Latest Albian) Dinosaurs from Winton, Queensland, Australia – Scott A. Hocknull, Matt A. White, Travis R. Tischler, Alex G. Cook, Naomi D. Calleja, Trish Sloan & David A. Elliott – 2009. – Revision of the sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae Hocknull et al. 2009 from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia: Implications for Gondwanan titanosauriform dispersal. – Gondwana Research. 27 (3): 995–1033. – S. F. Poropat, P. Upchurch, P. D. Mannion, S. A. Hocknull, B. P. Kear, T. Sloan, G. H. K. Sinapius & D. A. Elliot – 2014.

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