Examination of The Winton Dinosaur Project

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Examination of The Winton Dinosaur Project

Findings in the Queensland, Australia Winton Dinosaur project show that the sauropod named "Elliot" may have died with his mate by his side (Salleh 2003). Anna Salleh from ABC Science Online discusses the new fossil evidence found by Dr. Steve Salisbury from the University of Queensland, who is one of the leading researchers on the Winton Project (2003). Dr. Alex Cook and assistants Scott Hocknull and Dr. Steve Salisbury lead the Winton Project. Elliot is one of the largest dinosaurs found to date in Australia, dating to about 98-95 million years ago (Beirne 2001).

According to researchers, Queensland, Australia was covered by a vast inland sea during the time of the dinosaurs 98-95 million years ago. The virtue of its age and the "environmental conditions under which the rocks it consists of were deposited," this project is the site for one of the richest sites of dinosaur fossils in all of Australia. These forested floodplains were dominated by the sauropods, which can be shown through the amounts of fossils found in the outback town of Winton (About the Project 2004).

Salisbury says that these fossils could represent evidence of a unique group of sauropods (Huge Dinosaur 2001). It was thought that these remains belonged to a group that was spread throughout Gondwana, however now it could be a unique set of sauropods centered in Australia. Elliot belongs to a group of sauropods that were long-necked herbivores, and could grow up to 21 meters in length. These dinosaurs had small heads and legs that could be the size of tree trunks (Huge Dinosaur 2001).

The first sauropod to be found, and one of the largest, is known as "Elliot." Dave Elliot, who named th...

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...The Winton Dinosaur Project. 10 February 2004.

<http://www.uq.edu.au/gatton/index.html?page=13449&pid=13449>

Beirne, Laurie. The Winton Sauropods. The University of Queensland. 22 January 2004.

http://www.uq.edu.au/gatton/index.html?page=14081&pid=14081

Huge Dinosaur find in Queensland. ABC Science Online. 11 October 2001.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s387485.htm>

Kingsley, Danny. Dinosaur Elliot unearthed. ABC Science Online. 31 July 2002. http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s634420.htm

Salleh, Anna. Dinosaur Died with a Mate by its Side. ABC Science Online. 4 December 2003. http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s100268.htm

“Second giant Dinosaur found at Queensland site.” Mary – Press Release. The University

of Queensland. 4 December 2003. <http://www.uq.edu.au/dinosaurs/index.html?page=14501&ntemplate=284>

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