Monster haul: Three new dinosaurs discovered

Saturday, July 4, 2009 - 02:56 in Paleontology & Archaeology

The remains of three new dinosaur species, including a flesh-eating predator, have been found in Queensland's outback. The carnivore, nicknamed Banjo, which was found near two giant herbivores in a waterhole in Winton, is the most complete meat-eater ever found in the country. A Queensland Museum palaeontologist, Scott Hucknall, said the animal, known as Australovenator wintonensis, was bigger than the velociraptor, whose "disemboweling" sickle claw helped earn its fierce reputation. "The cheetah of his time, Banjo was light and agile," Hucknall told the Sydney Morning Herald. "He could run down most prey with ease." The dinosaurs, which date back nearly 100m years to the middle of the Cretaceous period, have been named after Banjo Paterson, who composed Waltzing Matilda in Winton in 1885, and some of the characters from the song. The two herbivores Clancy – Witonotitan wattsi – a tall, slender animal similar to a giraffe, and...

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