Discover a small dinosaur with turkey in Australia

Scientists discovered a species in the area between Australia and Antarctica 113 million years ago.

The discovery of dinosaur Diluvicursor pickeringi published in the journal Peer J on biology and medicine on 11/1 shows the past connection between Australia and Antarctica as well as the different dinosaurs who once lived there .

Answering CNN, Matthew Herne, a palaeontologist who led the work, said dinosaur bones from Australia are rare. The discovery for the first time shows that there are at least two closely related dinosaurs living in southeastern Australia.

Species simulation image Diluvicursor pickeringi looking for food at the river bank in the Australia-Antarctic rift valley.(Photo: Peter Trusler).

Herne said the dinosaur is the size of a turkey but has a tail that is nearly 23m long . This animal can chew leaves, pine nuts, moss and can be fruit. Long leg bones indicate that it is a fast-moving species.

Herne explains D. pickeringi is actually a close relative of the Leaellynasaura dinosaur . Although both have small bodies, use their legs to walk and eat plants but they also have some noticeable differences. Leaellynasaura has a long, twisty tail while D. pickeringi's tail is much shorter. The question now is how big is the difference between them.

Scientists are not sure what did D. pickeringi disappear but Herne speculated that they might have been wiped down the river in a flood. The fossil found in 2005 was buried deep in the river's bottom with a tree, log and tree branch.

The name Diluvicursor pickeringi means "Pickering's dinosaur runners" in honor of David Pickering, an Australian paleontologist who died in 2016.

Herne said the fossil detection area suggested D. pickeringi's habitat. These dinosaurs have wandered in the Australia-Antarctic rift valley where there is a large river and dense forests.