This is the fossilized skull of a theropod dinosaur, specifically a titanosaur, the largest branch of the sauropod dinosaurs.
Titosaurs were the largest creatures ever to walk on land, with the largest known specimen weighing up to 69 tons, second only to the blue whale in terms of weight among all earth’s organisms.
The skull of the giant creature just excavated – (Photo: Royal Society Open Science).
The recently excavated skull belongs to the species Diamantinasaurus matildae, which is not the largest of the titanosaur group, measuring about 16 meters in length and weighing 25 tons. However, with the new details revealed, it promises to provide a detailed picture of the great group of beasts to which it belongs.
According to Sci-News, only three specimens, including one with several skull details of the species Diamantinasaurus matildae, have ever been excavated.
The new specimen, named Ann, is a significant breakthrough as it features an almost complete skull with parts never before known in this species, as well as in the larger titanosaur group.
Additionally, a nearly complete hind foot of the creature was also uncovered at the Winton Formation, according to the lead researcher, paleontologist Stephen Poropat from Curtin University (Perth, Australia).
Portrait of the “beast” reconstructed by scientists – (Photo: Elena Marian).
“This skull gives us a rare insight into the anatomy of the gigantic sauropod that lived in Northeastern Australia nearly 100 million years ago. Upon analyzing the remains, we also found similarities between Ann’s skull and that of a giant dinosaur named Sarmientosaurus musacchioi that lived in South America at the same time,” Dr. Poropat added.
The new specimen includes well-preserved details of the braincase, bones forming the back of the skull near the jaw joint, and also provides the shape of the teeth.
This creature is one of the most primitive giant dinosaurs and may help explain why giant dinosaurs were so successful in spreading across the globe during the golden age of dinosaurs – the late Cretaceous period, before being abruptly ended by the Chicxulub asteroid impact.
This may relate to the unusual warmth of the period from 100 million to 95 million years ago, which was much warmer than today. Antarctica was ice-free at that time, becoming a promised land for sauropods and possibly the homeland of this species.
The research has just been published in the scientific journal Royal Society Open Science.
