Australian Scientists Confirm Discovery of New Dinosaur Species

Officials in Australia have confirmed the discovery of a previously undiscovered species of dinosaur, the largest ever found on the continent, and one of the largest to have ever lived.

A study published Monday in the scientific journal Paleontology and Evolutionary Science describes how bones originally discovered in 2006 have been officially designated as Australotitan Cooperensis, a giant sauropod, a type of long-necked plant-eating dinosaur. Queensland Museum paleontologist Scott Hocknull told reporters Tuesday the animal stood five to six-and-a-half meters high and was 25 to 30 meters long from head to tail. The dinosaur is known as Australotitan for short, and affectionately as “Cooper” by the members of the team that conducted the study. The bones were originally discovered on a family farm in 2006 about 1,000 kilometers west of Brisbane in the Eromanga Basin.