Scott A. Hocknull1*, Matt A. White2, Travis R. Tischler2, Alex G. Cook1, Naomi D. Calleja2, Trish Sloan2, David A. Elliott2
1 Geosciences, Queensland Museum, Hendra, Queensland, Australia,
2 Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, The Jump-up, Winton, Queensland, Australia
Abstract Top
Background
Australia's dinosaurian fossil record is exceptionally poor compared to that of other similar-sized continents. Most taxa are known from fragmentary isolated remains with uncertain taxonomic and phylogenetic placement. A better understanding of the Australian dinosaurian record is crucial to understanding the global palaeobiogeography of dinosaurian groups, including groups previously considered to have had Gondwanan origins, such as the titanosaurs and carcharodontosaurids.
Figure 2. Silhouettes of the three new dinosaurs showing the material currently known from their respective holotypes.
A–B. Diamantinasaurus matildae gen. et sp. nov. (AODF 603); A. Right side, B. Left side. C. Wintonotitan wattsi gen. et sp. nov. (QMF 7292); Left view. D. Australovenator wintonensis gen. et sp. nov. (QMF 7292); Right view. Artwork: T. Tischler, Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History.
Methodology/Principal Findings
We describe three new dinosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous (latest Albian) Winton Formation of eastern Australia, including; Wintonotitan wattsi gen. et sp. nov., a basal titanosauriform; Diamantinasaurus matildae gen. et sp. nov., a derived lithostrotian titanosaur; and Australovenator wintonensis gen. et sp. nov., an allosauroid. We compare an isolated astragalus from the Early Cretaceous of southern Australia; formerly identified as Allosaurus sp., and conclude that it most-likely represents Australovenator sp.
Conclusion/Significance
The occurrence of Australovenator from the Aptian to latest Albian confirms the presence in Australia of allosauroids basal to the Carcharodontosauridae. These new taxa, along with the fragmentary remains of other taxa, indicate a diverse Early Cretaceous sauropod and theropod fauna in Australia, including plesiomorphic forms (e.g. Wintonotitan and Australovenator) and more derived forms (e.g. Diamantinasaurus).
Citation: Hocknull SA, White MA, Tischler TR, Cook AG, Calleja ND, et al. (2009) New Mid-Cretaceous (Latest Albian) Dinosaurs from Winton, Queensland, Australia. PLoS ONE 4(7): e6190. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006190
Editor: Paul Sereno, University of Chicago, United States of America
Received: May 15, 2009; Accepted: June 20, 2009; Published: July 3, 2009
Copyright: © 2009 Hocknull et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: Field and Labwork was funded by the Australian Age of Dinosaurs (www.australianageofdinosaurs.com), Queensland Museum (www.qm.qld.gov.au), Australian Geographic (www.australiangeographic.com.au) and philanthropy. Staff of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs and Queensland Museum assisted in study design, data collection and analysis, and preparation of the manuscript. Other funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
* E-mail: scott.hocknull@qm.qld.gov.au
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