Friday, July 03, 2009

Dinos down under

Australian paleontologists have announced the finding of three large new dinosaur species, a significant addition to the prehistoric fauna of a continent whose past is still an evolving story. Paleontologist John Long, said, "It not only presents us with two new amazing long-necked giants of the ancient Australian continent, but also announces our first really big predator." All came from a dig at Winton, in Queensland. In addition to the two large sauropods (one relatively stocky, the other taller and longer-necked) we have Australovenator, nicknamed Banjo, a predator built for speed and equipped with strong arms and three fearsome claws on each hand. They are dated at 98 million years old, which puts them in the Cretaceous.
COMMENT: New dinosaurs, especially sauropods and nasty predators, are always just plain cool to read about. I thought so when I was 8, and I still do.

No comments: