List of Australian and Antarctic dinosaurs

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Globe showing Australia and Antarctica, approx 100 Mya

This is a list of dinosaurs whose remains have been recovered from Australia or Antarctica.

Criteria for inclusion[edit]

List of Australian and Antarctic dinosaurs[edit]

Valid genera[edit]

Name Year Formation Location Notes Images
Antarctopelta 2006 Snow Hill Island Formation (Late Cretaceous, Campanian) Antarctica Possessed unusual caudal vertebrae that may have supported a "macuahuitl" as in Stegouros[1]
Atlascopcosaurus 1989 Eumeralla Formation (Early Cretaceous, Aptian to Albian)  Australia Only known from remains of jaws and teeth
Australotitan 2021 Winton Formation (Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian to Turonian)  Australia The largest dinosaur known from Australia, comparable in size to large South American dinosaurs
Australovenator 2009 Winton Formation (Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian)  Australia Analysis of its arms suggest it was well-adapted to grasping[2]
Austrosaurus 1933 Allaru Formation (Early Cretaceous, Albian)  Australia Its holotype was found associated with marine shells
Cryolophosaurus 1994 Hanson Formation (Early Jurassic, Pliensbachian) Antarctica Had a distinctive "pompadour" crest that spanned the head from side to side
Diamantinasaurus 2009 Winton Formation (Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian)  Australia May have been closely related to South American titanosaurs, suggesting they dispersed to Australia via Antarctica[3]
Diluvicursor 2018 Eumeralla Formation (Early Cretaceous, Albian)  Australia Lived in a prehistoric floodplain close to a high-energy river
Fostoria 2019 Griman Creek Formation (Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian)  Australia Four individuals have been found in association
Fulgurotherium 1932 Griman Creek Formation (Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian)  Australia Fragmentary, but may have been an elasmarian[4]
Galleonosaurus 2019 Wonthaggi Formation (Early Cretaceous, Barremian)  Australia Its upper jaw bone resembles a galleon when turned upside-down
Glacialisaurus 2007 Hanson Formation (Early Jurassic, Pliensbachian) Antarctica Basal yet survived late enough to coexist with true sauropods[5]
Imperobator 2019 Snow Hill Island Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) Antarctica Unusually for a paravian, it lacked an enlarged sickle claw
Kakuru 1980 Bulldog Shale (Early Cretaceous, Aptian)  Australia Poorly known
Kunbarrasaurus 2015 Allaru Formation, Toolebuc Formation (Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, Albian to Cenomanian)  Australia Preserves stomach contents containing ferns, fruits, and seeds[6]
Leaellynasaura 1989 Eumeralla Formation (Early Cretaceous, Albian)  Australia One referred specimen has an extremely long tail; if it does belong to this genus, it would be three times as long as the rest of the body
Minmi 1980 Bungil Formation (Early Cretaceous, Aptian)  Australia Had long legs for an ankylosaur, possibly to help it run into bushes for protection[7]
Morrosaurus 2016 Snow Hill Island Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) Antarctica Closely related to Australian and South American ornithopods[4]
Muttaburrasaurus 1981 Allaru Formation?, Mackunda Formation (Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, Albian to Cenomanian)  Australia Possessed a short oval bump on its snout
Ozraptor 1998 Colalura Sandstone (Middle Jurassic, Bajocian)  Australia Potentially the oldest known abelisauroid[8]
Qantassaurus 1999 Wonthaggi Formation (Early Cretaceous, Barremian)  Australia Distinguished from its other contemporary ornithopods by its relatively short dentary
Rapator 1932 Griman Creek Formation (Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, Albian to Cenomanian)  Australia Known from only a metacarpal
Rhoetosaurus 1926 Walloon Coal Measures (Late Jurassic, Oxfordian)  Australia Retains four claws on its hind feet, a basal trait
Savannasaurus 2016 Winton Formation (Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian to Turonian)  Australia May have spent more time near water than other sauropods[9]
Serendipaceratops 2003 Wonthaggi Formation (Early Cretaceous, Barremian to Albian)  Australia Possessed a robust ulna similar to those of ceratopsians and ankylosaurs, but was likely a member of the latter group[10]
Timimus 1993 Eumeralla Formation (Early Cretaceous, Albian)  Australia Potentially a tyrannosauroid;[11] if so it would be one of the few Gondwanan members of that group
Trinisaura 2013 Snow Hill Island Formation (Late Cretaceous, Campanian) Antarctica The first ornithopod named from Antarctica
Weewarrasaurus 2018 Griman Creek Formation (Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian)  Australia Unusually, its fossils were preserved in opal
Wintonotitan 2009 Winton Formation (Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous, Albian to Cenomanian)  Australia More gracile than other contemporary titanosaurs

Invalid and potentially valid genera[edit]

Timeline[edit]

This is a timeline of selected dinosaurs from the list above. Time is measured in Ma, megaannum, along the x-axis.

MesozoicTriassicJurassicCretaceousWintonotitanWeewarrasaurusTrinisauraTimimusRhoetosaurusRapatorQantassaurusOzraptorMuttaburrasaurusMinmi (dinosaur)LeaellynasauraKakuruGlacialisaurusDiluvicursorDiamantinasaurusCryolophosaurusAustrosaurusAustralovenatorAntarctopeltaMesozoicTriassicJurassicCretaceous

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Soto-Acuña, Sergio; Vargas, Alexander O.; Kaluza, Jonatan; Leppe, Marcelo A.; Botelho, Joao F.; Palma-Liberona, José; Simon-Gutstein, Carolina; Fernández, Roy A.; Ortiz, Héctor; Milla, Verónica; Aravena, Bárbara; Manríquez, Leslie M. E.; Alarcón-Muñoz, Jhonatan; Pino, Juan Pablo; Trevisan, Cristine; Mansilla, Héctor; Hinojosa, Luis Felipe; Muñoz-Walther, Vicente; Rubilar-Rogers, David (9 December 2021). "Bizarre tail weaponry in a transitional ankylosaur from subantarctic Chile". Nature. 600 (7888): 259–263. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04147-1. PMID 34853468. S2CID 244799975.
  2. ^ White, Matt A.; Bell, Phil R.; Cook, Alex G.; Barnes, David G.; Tischler, Travis R.; Bassam, Brant J.; Elliott, David A. (14 September 2015). "Forearm Range of Motion in Australovenator wintonensis (Theropoda, Megaraptoridae)". PLOS ONE. 10 (9): e0137709. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1037709W. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137709. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4569425. PMID 26368529.
  3. ^ Poropat, Stephen F; Kundrát, Martin; Mannion, Philip D; Upchurch, Paul; Tischler, Travis R; Elliott, David A (20 January 2021). "Second specimen of the Late Cretaceous Australian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae provides new anatomical information on the skull and neck of early titanosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (2): 610–674. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa173. ISSN 0024-4082.
  4. ^ a b Rozadilla, Sebastián; Agnolín, Federico Lisandro; Novas, Fernando Emilio (17 December 2019). "Osteology of the Patagonian ornithopod Talenkauen santacrucensis (Dinosauria, Ornithischia)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 17 (24): 2043–2089. doi:10.1080/14772019.2019.1582562. ISSN 1477-2019. S2CID 155344014.
  5. ^ Smith, N.D.; Makovicky, P.J.; Pol, D.; Hammer, W.R. & Currie, P.J. (2007). "The Dinosaurs of the Early Jurassic Hanson Formation of the Central Transantarctic Mountains: Phylogenetic Review and Synthesis" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey and the National Academies. 2007 (1047srp003): 5 pp. doi:10.3133/of2007-1047.srp003.
  6. ^ Molnar, Ralph E.; Clifford, H. Trevor (2001). "An ankylosaurian cololite from Queensland, Australia". In Carpenter, Kenneth (ed.). The Armored Dinosaurs. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. pp. 399–412. ISBN 0-253-33964-2.
  7. ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. United States: Princeton University Press. pp. 226–228. ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9.
  8. ^ Rauhut, O.W.M. (2005). "Post-cranial remains of ‘coelurosaurs’ (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Late Jurassic of Tanzania". Geological Magazine 142 (1): 97–107
  9. ^ Poropat, S.F.; Mannion, P.D.; Upchurch, P.; Tischler, T.R.; Sloan, T.; Sinapius, G.H.K.; Elliott, J.A.; Elliott, D.A. (2020). "Osteology of the Wide-Hipped Titanosaurian Sauropod Dinosaur Savannasaurus elliottorum from the Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (3): e1786836. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1786836. S2CID 224850234.
  10. ^ Rozadilla, Sebastián; Agnolín, Federico; Manabe, Makoto; Tsuihiji, Takanobu; Novas, Fernando E. (1 September 2021). "Ornithischian remains from the Chorrillo Formation (Upper Cretaceous), southern Patagonia, Argentina, and their implications on ornithischian paleobiogeography in the Southern Hemisphere". Cretaceous Research. 125: 104881. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104881. ISSN 0195-6671.
  11. ^ Rafael Delcourt; Orlando Nelson Grillo (2018). "Tyrannosauroids from the Southern Hemisphere: Implications for biogeography, evolution, and taxonomy". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. in press. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.09.003.