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The incredible opalized dinosaur teeth found in the Outback shed new light on how three giant beasts weighing 90,000kg and 40m coexisted in Australia
- Fossilized dinosaur teeth have been found in Lightning Ridge in northwestern NSW
- The researchers said the area has produced a rich abundance of fossils over the years
- Three species of sauropod are believed to have coexisted in the area at the time
An incredible discovery of fossilized dinosaur teeth offers a new insight into how three species of sauropods lived in Australia millions of years ago.
The teeth were discovered in Lightning Ridge, a small outback town in northwestern New South Wales near the Queensland border.
Researchers from the University of New England said the area has produced a rich abundance of dinosaur fossils over the years and is unique in that all the fossils found are fully formed in opal.
Sauropod species include dinosaurs like Brontosaurus and Brachiosaurus, two of the largest animals that have walked the earth weighing 90,000kg and 40m in length.
The teeth were discovered in Lightning Ridge, a small outback town in northwestern New South Wales near the Queensland border. In the photo: opalized sauropod teeth up close
Although their fossils are common in central Queensland, there has been limited evidence of their existence and lifestyle from NSW.
Timothy Frauenfelder, lead researcher and PhD candidate, said, “Teeth are one of the smallest bones in a sauropod and there are plenty of them at Lightning Ridge.
“Although small compared to other sauropod fossils, which can be over a meter long, teeth can be incredibly useful for assessing ecology and diversity.
“Unlike us, sauropod dinosaurs don’t have different types of teeth such as molars or incisors, and the different tooth shapes can give us an idea of how many species lived in a particular area.”
This led the researchers to conclude that three species coexisted in the area.
The team also conducted a microscopic analysis to visualize the preserved feeding characteristics on a tooth’s wear facet.
Environmental reconstruction of the Griman Creek Formation, Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia. It shows three species of sauropod dinosaurs (different colors) that feed at different heights within the forest canopy
“As sauropods eat, they produce large facets that retain varying degrees of characteristics such as pits and scratches,” Frauenfelder said.
“The frequencies of these characteristics allow us to determine how high an animal was feeding in the canopy or how hard the food was.
“Comparing the characteristics of the teeth allows us to interpret how these giant dinosaurs coexisted.”
Mr. Frauenfelder was able to determine that at least two of the species fed at different levels within the canopy.
One species ate at ground level – less than a meter above the ground – while the other ate in the middle of the canopy, or one to 10 meters above the ground.
The study was published in the Lethaia Journal.
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