Australian paleontologists have found the fossils of three new species of dinosaurs : a fearsome predator and two herbivorous dinosaurs. The remains date back more than 98 million years , from the mid-Cretaceous period.
The new carnivorous theropod has received the name Australovenator wintonensis and the nickname "Banjo", in memory of the Australian poet Banjo Patterson. According to Scott Hocknull, lead author of the find published in the journal PLos One , it was "the cheetah of its time, light and agile, capable of reaching most of its prey with ease in the open." It had three sharp claws on each limb. "It is the Australian equivalent of the Velociraptor , but much bigger and more terrifying," says Hocknull.
The second fossil belonged to a titanosaur called Wintonotitan wattsi , which paleontologists say was a tall animal that could have fit into a category similar to giraffes in mammals. Remains of another titanosaur have also been found, the compact Diamantinasaurus matildae , a reptile more similar to hippos .
