Weewarrasaurus pobeni: New dinosaur discovered in Australia
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The dog-sized dinosaur was discovered in New South Wales in Australia
Ever heard of the Weewarrasaurus dinosaur? Don't be surprised if you haven't, as the species has only just been discovered in New South Wales in Australia.
A fragment of jawbone, fossilised in a stone, was found at Wee Warra opal mine in a town called Lightning Ridge.
It's full name is Weewarrasaurus pobeni. It would have lived in the Cretaceous Period about 100 million years ago and is part of a group of plant-eating dinosaurs called ornithopods.
This group moved on two legs, had beaks with serrated teeth and roamed on the ancient floodplains which covered the region at the time.
a supremely rare and unlikely discovery
Lightning Ridge is unique because it is the only place in the world where dinosaur bones routinely turn into opal - a multi-coloured precious stone.
The Weewarrasaurus jaw is now part of the Australian Opal Centre collection, the world's most diverse public collection of opalised fossils.
Check out the wide serrated teeth preserved in this fossilised blue-green jawbone.
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