Mr Hocknull compared the theropod, from the tyrannosaurus rex family, to the velociraptors made famous in 1993's 'Jurassic Park", only 'many times bigger and more terrifying'. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
SYDNEY - FOSSILS of three new species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia, including a meat-eater larger than Velociraptor from the Jurassic Park movies, suggesting Australia may have a more complex prehistoric past.
Slashing claws
THE meat-eating theropod dinosaur has been called Australovenator (nicknamed Banjo after Australian bush poet Banjo Patterson) and the two plant-eating sauropod dinosaurs are Wintonotitan and Diamantinasaurus.
'The cheetah of his time, Banjo was light and agile. He could run down most prey with ease over open ground,' said Scott Mr Hocknull, lead author of the dinosaur discovery.
The two plant-eating and one carnivore dinosaurs, the first large dinosaurs unearthed since 1981, were found in Queensland and date back 98 million years to the mid-Cretaceous period.
Scientists said the three, named Banjo, Matilda and Clancy in honour of Australia's most famous song, Waltzing Matilda, opened up an exciting new front in the world of dinosaur research.
Queensland Museum researcher Scott Hocknull and his team found the fossils in the billabong, or small lake, near the Outback town of Winton, where poet Banjo Paterson is said to have written Waltzing Matilda in 1885.
The team used bulldozers to carve through the site's unyielding topsoil before digging with hand tools in the thick clay beneath, back-breaking work which yielded Australia's first major dinosaur discovery since 1981.
Mr Hocknull compared the theropod, from the tyrannosaurus rex family, to the velociraptors made famous in 1993's Jurassic Park, only 'many times bigger and more terrifying'.
The plant-eating Matilda and Clancy belong to the giant titanosaur family, the biggest creatures ever to walk the earth.
'These discoveries are a major breakthrough in the scientific understanding of prehistoric life in Australia,' said state premier Anna Bligh, as she announced the find in Winton.
Scientists said Australia's continent-sized Outback could hold untold treasures for palaeontogists.
Mr Hocknull also held out hope that more discoveries were waiting for his team near Winton. -- AFP, REUTERS
