A “really unusual” discovery of dinosaur teeth in the interior of Queensland has changed what researchers know about how a 20-ton titanosaur would have smiled.
Key points:
- New research on 17 Diamantinasaurus teeth has changed the way experts thought they lived
- The sauropod’s teeth were unearthed in an excavation near Winton, inland Queensland.
- More teeth have been discovered in the area since then
New research on 17 curved teeth that were discovered at an excavation site near Winton in 2019 has shed light on the role of the sauropod Diamantinasaurus matildae in its prehistoric ecosystem.
Stephen Poropat, a research partner at the Australian Museum of the Age of Dinosaurs, said previous descriptions of the Diamantinasaurus skull were modeled in part from a comparable titanosaur from Brazil.
“We’ve found dozens of sauropod skeletons in Winton over the last two decades, and this was the first one that retained a lot of teeth, which is really unusual,” Dr. Poropat said.
The sauropod’s teeth were found near Winton in 2019. (Supplied by: Trish Sloan)
“They’re between 98 and 95 million years old. We don’t have an exact date yet, but that’s the limit we’re working with right now.”
He said the teeth showed that the dinosaur was probably feeding at least a meter above the ground, without ingesting too much soil or sand, and probably up to 10 m above the ground.
“Imagine a three-story building,” he said.
Print by an artist of a Diamantinasaurus, a sauropod that roamed what is now Queensland.
Important dental dinosaur
Diamantinasaurus’ “robust and thick” teeth were a point of difference from other sauropods, which generally had more abundant, narrow teeth suitable for eating below ground.
Stephen Poropat says fossils are the key to understanding how dinosaurs lived. (Provided by: Trish Sloan)
It was a valuable distinction to make, according to Dr. Poropat, who has devoted part of his career to understanding as much as possible about the titanosaur.
“The fossils we are finding are part of an ancient ecosystem that occupied central Queensland when it was much wetter and a little warmer than it is today, even though Australia was much further south at the time,” the doctor said. Said Poropat.
“To be able to understand how many different species of sauropods coexisted in this area, we need to be able to restrict what each of their diets was, and we can do that using their teeth.”
Digging more
Much remains to be learned about Diamantinasaurus matildae, which is in the process of becoming the Queensland state fossil emblem.
Australian Age of Dinosaurs chief executive David Elliott said nearly two dozen titanosaur teeth had been found.
“We have enough there, and enough bones from the place, so we can start adjusting those teeth to the animal that owns the bones,” Elliott said.
“That’s really exciting, because so far we didn’t have much idea what the skull or face shape of the Diamantinasaurus really looks like.”
Diamantinasaurus teeth were discovered near Winton in 2019. (Supplied by: Trish Sloan)
Dr. Poropat said the future was bright for the sauropod.
“The best thing is that we have more specimens of Diamantinasaurus in process that will make our understanding of this animal even clearer in the future,” Dr. Poropat said.
“We keep digging more every year.”
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