Twelve new Australian sauropods have been classified following a comprehensive reassessment of Winton Formation fossil remains.  Twelve new sauropod fossil specimens from the Winton Formation (Queensland, Australia) have been described. The extensive review, which involved CT scanning hundreds of fossil bones, has resolved the known sauropods from the Winton Formation into three distinct taxa.

Assessment of Twelve New Australian Sauropods Confirms Three Taxa

The taxa are Diamantinasaurus matildae, Savannasaurus elliottorum and Wintonotitan wattsi. A fourth sauropod, Australotitan cooperensis is now considered an indeterminate diamantinasaurian. The review suggests that the material previously assigned to A. cooperensis might represent a Diamantinasaurus. If this is the case, then Diamantinasaurus was capable of growing much larger than earlier studies indicated. A. cooperensis may become nomen dubium (dubious scientific name not widely recognised).

PhD candidate Samantha Beeston scanning Diamantinasaurus fossil material.  Picture credit: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History.

Picture credit: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History

The ground-breaking study into these enormous, ground-shaking dinosaurs was led by University of College London PhD candidate Samantha Beeston in collaboration with the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History. Beeston’s research was conducted as part of her Master’s thesis at Swinburne University of Technology, under the supervision of Dr Stephen Poropat (now at the Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, Curtin University). The paper has been published in the open-access journal PeerJ.

A life reconstruction of Australotitan cooperensis, the largest known animal to have ever lived in Australia. A reassessment of the fossilised bones suggests that A. cooperensis might be nomen dubium as the fossil remains could represent a very large specimen of Diamantinasaurus matildae.  Picture credit: Queensland Museum.

Picture credit: Queensland Museum

To read an earlier blog article (2015) about titanosaur fossil remains later named A. cooperensis awaiting scientific description: Super-sized Aussie Titanosaur Awaits Scientific Description.

A sauropod excavation site photographed in 2011.  Picture credit: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History.

Picture credit: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History

Three Australian Sauropods

The researchers were able to assign two new specimens to Diamantinasaurus matildae. In addition, two specimens were assigned to Savannasaurus elliottorum with three more being assigned to Wintonotitan wattsi. The other five specimens are too incomplete to classify at the genus level. They have been described as indeterminate diamantinasaurians.  A lack of comparable specimens with overlapping bones has hampered precise classification of these five specimens.

The three recognised Winton Formation sauropod taxa are:

• Diamantinasaurus matildae – named in 2009 (Hocknull et al).
• Savannasaurus elliottorum – named in 2016 (Poropat et al).
• Wintonotitan wattsi – named in 2009 in the same scientific paper as D. matildae and the theropod Australovenator wintonensis (Hocknull et al).
  

Over five hundred sauropod bones were scanned as part of this research. This innovative approach enabled the scientists to evaluate each bone and compare it to other fossil specimens in the Museum’s extensive collection. The study has led to a better understanding of the unique traits that help to separate known species.  Student Samantha Beeston explained that as there are so few bones preserved for Australotitan it makes it very difficult, if not impossible to assign new specimens to it, or to differentiate it from any of the other Winton Formation sauropod taxa.

She added: “Due to the limited fossil evidence for Australotitan, resolving its classification will be challenging.”

Student Samantha Beeston scanning the toe bone of Diamantinasaurus.  Picture credit: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History.

Picture credit: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History

Significant for Australian Palaeontology

David Elliott, the Executive Chairman of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History commented that he was delighted to have more sauropod specimens in the Museum’s collection assigned to distinct species. He explained that having a better understanding of autapomorphies and anatomical traits leading to more confident assignment of taxa was a significant leap forward in Australian palaeontological research.  The twelve new Australian sauropods would provide the basis for further research into the dinosaurs of the Winton Formation.

He added:

“These dinosaurs help demonstrate the diverse natural history of Australia during the Cretaceous Period and will become important exhibits at the new Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History.”

Volunteers work at the “Devil Dave” sauropod excavation site (2017).  Picture credit: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History.

Picture credit: Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the assistance of a media release from the Australia Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History in the compilation of this article.

The scientific paper: “Reappraisal of sauropod dinosaur diversity in the Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, through 3D digitisation and description of new specimens” by Samantha L. Beeston​, Stephen F. Poropat, Philip D. Mannion, Adele H. Pentland, Mackenzie J. Enchelmaier, Trish Sloan and David A. Elliott published in PeerJ.

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A new species of Late Jurassic iguanodontian has been described from fossils discovered in western Portugal. The dinosaur has been named Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum. The discovery of this dinosaur adds to the diversity of relatively small ornithopods known from the Lourinhã Formation.  The fossil material consisting of a partial left hindlimb and isolated forelimb bones were excavated from the cliffs at the picturesque Porto Dinheiro beach (Lourinhã, Portugal). The fossils probably represent a single, individual dinosaur.

Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum life reconstruction. Picture credit: Victor Carvalho.

Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum

The researchers conclude that this dinosaur had a body length of between 3-4 metres. It was rather small when compared to Early Cretaceous iguanodontians such as Iguanodon bernissartensis which had an estimated length of approximately 10 metres and weighed around 5 tonnes. The forelimb bones lack modifications for quadrupedal locomotion. Hesperonyx probably was a biped and considerably more agile than later, much larger iguanodontians.

Hesperonyx roamed western Portugal approximately 150 million years ago (Late Jurassic). The research project was a collaboration between scientists from the NOVA School of Science and Technology, University of Zaragoza and University of Bonn, supported by the local Museu da Lourinhã and Sociedade de História Natural de Torres Vedras.

Co-author of the study Bruno Camilo, head of Sociedade of História Natural of Torres Vedras (Universidade NOVA de Lisboa). Picture credit: Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.

A New Dinosaur Taxon

The almost complete and semi-articulated left hindlimb was discovered in the summer of 2021. The fossil material was cleaned and prepared in the Museu da Lourinhã laboratory. The morphology of the bones puzzled the researchers. 

Student and co-author of the scientific paper Lucrezia Ferrari who worked on the fossilised material commented:

“It simply did not match anything we have seen before.”

The team were quietly confident that these fossils represented a new dinosaur taxon.

Student Lucrezia Ferrari who worked on the fossil preparation and presented a thesis on this new ornithopod dinosaur as part of her Master’s degree. Picture credit: Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.

Filippo Maria Rotatori, lead author of the paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology added:

“It was something familiar, but it has several features that just looked unusual.  It was some kind of bipedal herbivorous dinosaur, but such animal was never recorded in Portugal before.   It’s a new species. One more in the highly diverse ecosystem of the Portuguese Jurassic.”

What’s in a Name?

The genus name is derived from “Hesperus” the Greek God, whose name is associated with the planet Venus and it being seen in the western sky. This is a nod to the fact that the fossils come from the western region of Portugal. The genus name also contains the Greek “onyx” meaning claw. The specific name honours Micael Martinho and Carla Alexandra Tomás for their dedicated work as fossil preparators at the Museu da Lourinhã.

Lead author of the scientific paper, Filippo Maria Rotatori with the preparators Micael Martinho and Carla Tomás (Museu da Lourinhã) with the toe bones. The trivial name of this new dinosaur honours Micael and Carlo and recognises their dedication to the work of fossil preparation. Picture credit: Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.

Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum – A Small Iguanodontian Dinosaur

The Iguanodontia is an extensive and specious clade of ornithischian dinosaurs. These herbivores were abundant during the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Their early origins are not well understood. This is due to the lack of fossil material representing basal members of this clade. The fossil record of early iguanodontians is particularly poor in Europe. Only a handful of European species are currently recognised. For example, Cumnoria prestwichii and the geologically older Callovosaurus leedsi, both these dinosaurs are associated with English Jurassic deposits (Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire respectively).

The discovery of Hesperonyx adds to the diversity of small ornithopod dinosaurs already recognised in the fossil record of the Lourinhã Formation.  It was an unexpected fossil find. Hesperonyx demonstrates that there are probably many more types of dinosaur awaiting discovery in the Upper Jurassic strata of western Portugal.

The partial left hindlimb of Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum assembled to reflect the position within the skeleton. Picture credit: Inês Marques.

Miguel Moreno-Azanza, the main advisor of Filippo, noted:

“This is a wonderful discovery, and also a great example of how scientific collaborations in palaeontology can help to reach great results.”

Miguel Moreno-Azanza, from Zaragoza University, co-author of the Hesperonyx scientific paper with a titanosaur egg fossil and an Ampelosaurus model. Picture credit: Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.

Everything Dinosaur recognises the assistance of a media release and personal email correspondence with the lead author in the compilation of this article.

The scientific paper: “An unexpected early-diverging iguanodontian dinosaur (Ornithischia, Ornithopoda) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal” by Filippo Maria Rotatori, Lucrezia Ferrari, Cristina Sequero, Bruno Camilo, Octávio Mateus and Miguel Moreno-Azanza published in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology.

Evidence of a Devonian fossil forest has been found in the high sandstone cliffs located near Minehead in Devon. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Cardiff have discovered the oldest fossilised trees ever found in the UK. The fossil remains of the trees, known as Calamophyton represent the oldest known fossil forest on Earth.

Fossilised tree stumps near the town of Gilboa (New York, USA) and a quarry at nearby Cairo, New York are thought to be 380 and 385 million years old respectively. The Gilboa site is dominated by remains of Wattieza trees. These trees are related to the Calamophyton trees identified at the Devon site. They are both members of the Pseudosporochnales Order and are distantly related to modern ferns.

Devonian Fossil Forest

The Devonian fossil forest is thought to be around four million years older than the tree fossils discovered in New York. The forest is approximately 390 million years old (Eifelian faunal stage of the Middle Devonian).

The fossils were found near the town of Minehead. The site is located on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, near a Butlin’s holiday camp. The fossilised trees, known as Calamophyton, at first glance resemble palm trees, but they are not related to modern angiosperms. Rather than solid wood, their trunks were thin and hollow in the centre. They also lacked leaves, and their branches were covered in hundreds of twig-like structures.

Evidence of Arthropods Found

The trees were much shorter than extant trees. The largest specimens were between two and four metres high. As the trees grew, they shed their branches. The floor of the forest was covered in a dense mat of decaying vegetation. This was home to an array of invertebrates and arthropod tracks have been discovered at this site.

A Devonian Ecosystem

It had been thought that these sandstone cliffs were largely devoid of fossils. This remarkable discovery demonstrates how early trees helped to stabilise riverbanks and coastlines hundreds of millions of years ago. It was during the Devonian that the first extensive terrestrial forests formed.

The Devonian lasted between 419 million and 359 million years ago. During this geological period the first complex terrestrial ecosystems evolved. By the end of the Devonian, the first seed-bearing plants (pteridosperms) appeared and the earliest land animals, mostly arthropods, were well-established.

Fundamentally Changing Life on Earth

Commenting on the significance of the fossil forest discovery, one of the paper’s co-authors, Professor Neil Davies (Cambridge University), stated:

“The Devonian period fundamentally changed life on Earth. It also changed how water and land interacted with each other, since trees and other plants helped stabilise sediment through their root systems, but little is known about the very earliest forests.”

The Devonian fossil forest identified by the researchers was found in the Hangman Sandstone Formation, along the north Devon and west Somerset coasts. During the Devonian period, this region was not attached to the rest of England, but instead lay further south, connected to parts of Germany and Belgium, where similar Devonian fossils have been found.

Studying the Ecology of the Earliest Forests on Earth

Co-author Dr Christopher Berry (Cardiff University) commented:

“When I first saw pictures of the tree trunks I immediately knew what they were, based on 30 years of studying this type of tree worldwide. It was amazing to see them so near to home. But the most revealing insight comes from seeing, for the first time, these trees in the positions where they grew. It is our first opportunity to look directly at the ecology of this earliest type of forest, to interpret the environment in which Calamophyton trees were growing, and to evaluate their impact on the sedimentary system.”

During the Devonian, this location was a semi-arid plain, criss-crossed by small river channels spilling out from mountains to the northwest. The fieldwork was undertaken along the highest sea-cliffs in England, some of which are only accessible by boat. The sandstone formation is in fact rich with plant fossil material. The researchers identified fossilised plants and plant debris, fossilised tree logs, traces of roots and sedimentary structures, preserved within the sandstone.

A Weird Forest

Professor Davies explained:

“This was a pretty weird forest – not like any forest you would see today. There wasn’t any undergrowth to speak of and grass hadn’t yet appeared, but there were lots of twigs dropped by these densely-packed trees, which had a big effect on the landscape.”

This was the first time in the history of our planet that large plants could grow together on land. The sheer abundance of debris shed by the Calamophyton trees built up within layers of sediment. The sediment affected the way that the rivers flowed across the landscape, the first time that the course of rivers could be affected in this way.

Professor Davies added:

“The evidence contained in these fossils preserves a key stage in Earth’s development, when rivers started to operate in a fundamentally different way than they had before, becoming the great erosive force they are today. People sometimes think that British rocks have been looked at enough, but this shows that revisiting them can yield important new discoveries.”

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the assistance of a media release from the University of Cambridge in the compilation of this article.

The scientific paper: “Earth’s earliest forest: fossilized trees and vegetation-induced sedimentary structures from the Middle Devonian (Eifelian) Hangman Sandstone Formation, Somerset and Devon, SW England” by Neil S. Davies, William J. McMahon and Christopher M. Berry published in Journal of the Geological Society.

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