Dinosaurs / Cretaceous / Diamantinasaurus
Diamantinasaurus
Cretaceous dye-ah-man-TEEN-ah-SAWR-us, “Diamantina River lizard”
Diamantinasaurus is a robust sauropod discovered near Winton in central Queensland, Australia. Uncovered alongside the predatory theropod Australovenator, it was affectionately nicknamed 'Matilda' by researchers. Dating from the mid-Cretaceous Winton Formation, Diamantinasaurus was a stout, broad-bodied titanosauriform measuring roughly fifteen metres in length and weighing over ten tonnes. Its forelimbs were unusually robust with a thumb claw, and recently discovered cranial material revealed broad, square snouts suited for non-selective low to mid-level browsing. Its evolutionary relationships highlight a faunal connection between Australia, South America, and Antarctica during the warm Cretaceous.
Nicknamed 'Matilda', it preserves one of the most complete titanosaurian skulls and forelimbs from Australia.
Where and when
Diamantinasaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 96 to 93 million years ago (Cenomanian-Turonian age). Its remains come from Australia, in the Winton Formation.
The numbers
Length 15 m (estimates run from 14 to 16 m). Mass about 15 t. Hip height about 3.5 m. That is 8.8 human-lengths, or 1.34 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.