A rare dinosaur discovery of 17 teeth in Australia belonging to one of the largest animals that ever walked the earth is being investigated by scientists.
The first 12 teeth were first unearthed by paleontologists from the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History in 2019, The Guardian reported. A recent second excavation has brought the total to 17 when an additional five were uncovered.
They were found in Winton in western Queensland-a fossil hotspot for paleontologists, who believe that 96 million years ago, it was at the edge of an inland ocean. Although many fossils have been unearthed there, the cranial remains of dinosaurs are a rare find, The Guardian reported.
It is believed that the rare collection of teeth belonged to a sauropod diamantinasaurus, which is still, to this day, one of the largest animals that have ever walked the earth. It used to be between 49 to 52 feet long and weigh between 33,000 and 44,000 pounds.
Paleontologists are still investigating the fossils for more information.
This discovery could trigger new insights into the diamantinasaurus species, Dr. Stephen Poropat of Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology told The Guardian.
Scratches observed on the 17 teeth suggest that this species may have chewed more vicariously on their food. Paleontologists previously believed the animals were unable to chew.
This species was a herbivore. Edible plants that grew in Winton during the Cretaceous period included araucarian conifers, angiosperms, and ginkgoes. It is likely the animals would have fed on these, but their exact diet is unknown.
"The relatively robust teeth of diamantinasaurian sauropods would have enabled them to procure parts of plants that were relatively hardy, conifer cones for example," Poropat told the news outlet. "The discovery is doubly significant as sauropod dinosaur teeth are exceptionally rare in Australia, despite being relatively commonly preserved elements in Jurassic-Cretaceous deposits elsewhere."
Previous fossils for this species showed stones in their stomachs; paleontologists previously believed that this assisted in breaking up food in the stomach due to not chewing very vicariously. The scratches on the teeth pose new questions about how the species chewed, swallowed and digested their food.
The diamantinasaurus used to live in what is now Australia during the early late Cretaceous period.
The species was first named in 2009, based on fossil finds nearby to the area the teeth were uncovered.
The fossil hotbed in Winton makes up part of the Winton Formation-a sequence of sedimentary rocks. It stretches from the north of Winton in central western Queensland into New South Wales.
A large number of fossils have been uncovered there over the years. They are all from the Cretaceous period and are between 98-95 million years old.
Other dinosaur fossils found there include a carnivorous theropod called Australovenator, and another sauropod known as Wintonititan.
Newsweek has reached out to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History for a comment.
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