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Monster of a dinosaur found in Australia
Frank Thorne in Sydney03.07.09
A VICIOUS meat-eating creature with razor-sharp teeth is among three new species of dinosaur discovered in Australia.
The two-metre tall, five-metre long Australovenator Wintonensis was bigger, faster and more terrifying than the velociraptor made famous in Jurassic Park and once roamed the Queensland outback.
Nicknamed "Banjo" by palaeontologists, its bones are among the remains of three species found at the site of a prehistoric billabong dating back 95 million years in the outback near the historic town of Winton.
The bones will go on display at the town's new Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History.Fossilised bones of two new species of the more gentle, giant plant-eating sauropods, nicknamed "Matilda" and "Clancy", were also found.
Queensland's Premier Anna Bligh said: "Banjo possessed razor-sharp teeth and had three large slashing claws on each hand. This was a terrifying creature."
