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EXHIBIT 218

Diamantinasaurus

Diamantinasaurus matildae

Dinosaur

Diamantinasaurus was a heavy-bodied Australian sauropod, now known from a skull as well as limb and body bones. [1]

Evidence profile

TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST

Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.

01 / SOURCE-INFORMED RECONSTRUCTION

A life reconstruction from the evidence

Illustrative life reconstruction of Diamantinasaurus in a period-appropriate environment; coloration and missing anatomy are interpretations.

An illustrative reconstruction. Compare its anatomy with the evidence and limitations in the dossier. [1]

Source-informed reconstruction. Appearance evidence [1]. Original illustration; missing anatomy, coloration and scenery include interpretation.

Fossils constrain this life reconstruction. Missing anatomy, coloration and the environmental scene include interpretation; the dossier explains the evidence limits.

02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION

A cinematic imagination

Illustrative reconstruction of Diamantinasaurus matildae; missing anatomy, pose and colors are hypotheses.

An illustrative reconstruction. Compare its anatomy with the evidence and limitations in the dossier. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.

Original artwork · artistic interpretation.

Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.

PERIODLate Cretaceous[2]
DIETHerbivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDAustralia[2]
CompareRead the dossierView the sources

MEET THE ANIMAL

Meet Diamantinasaurus

Diamantinasaurus was a long-necked, heavy-bodied sauropod from Queensland, Australia. Sauropods are the four-legged dinosaurs with long necks and tails. An institutional profile estimates this animal at about fifteen to sixteen metres long, but does not identify a particular growth stage for that value. Its first fossils came from an ancient billabong, where bones were mixed with remains of several other animals. [D4]

Its surroundings were not simply the dry landscape seen in western Queensland today. Research on the Winton Formation describes a freshwater plain with winding rivers, small lakes and wet patches. Rainfall was seasonal, and conifers grew alongside early flowering plants. Those deposits help reconstruct the environment. They do not show that the sauropod was adapted to living underwater merely because some bones ended up beside aquatic animals. [D6]

A specimen nicknamed Ann brought a particularly useful discovery: a nearly complete skull. Its description in 2023 gives researchers a direct basis for studying the head and teeth, instead of borrowing a whole skull from another dinosaur. The tooth crowns help scientists consider how it fed. Even with this new information, exact plant preferences and the details of a fully restored head remain questions for further research. [D1]

PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER

A life in profile.

The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.

The Ann skull described in 2023 provides a direct head reference that older skull-less reconstructions lacked. [D1]

Profile scope: Genus — Diamantinasaurus matildae; Winton Formation sauropod from Queensland. Australotitan is reserved because published overlap remains unresolved. [D2]

Time
Late Cretaceous
Fossil locations in this exhibit
Australia
How to read the evidence

Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.

A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.

Body length

Inferred

About 15–16 m (educational reference)

The institutional estimate lacks an explicit measured individual and growth-stage qualification; it is not an established species range. [D4]

Body mass

Inferred

About 15–20 tonnes (educational reference)

No stated fossil individual or maturity accompanies this estimate, so it is excluded from adult comparison sliders. [D4]

Diet and feeding

Inferred

Plant feeding inferred

Tooth crowns and wear motivate feeding hypotheses; exact plant preferences require further testing rather than a fixed menu. [D1]

Habitat and setting

Inferred

Vegetated freshwater alluvial plain

Winton deposits record meandering rivers, small lakes and mires under warm seasonal rainfall. Floodplain ground was the living landscape. [D6]

Movement

Inferred

Terrestrial quadruped inferred

The sauropod body plan and stout limb bones support four-legged movement; billabong burial is not swimming specialization. [D5]

Recognizable anatomy

Source supported

Small skull and compressed tooth crowns

The Ann specimen documents skull anatomy directly; a fully restored head still needs missing parts completed. [D1]

Reproduction & life together

Reproduction and nesting

Not established

Not established here

The inspected skeletal studies and focused searches do not identify Diamantinasaurus eggs, nests, clutch size or parental care. [D2]

Mating and courtship

Not established

Not established here

The reviewed cranial material does not reveal mate choice, mating posture, display sounds or sex-specific colors. [D1]

Social behavior

Not established

Not established here

Multiple specimens and bones mixed in a billabong do not independently demonstrate a living herd. [D4]

Dossier research & sources

Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.

  1. A nearly complete skull of Diamantinasaurus matildae and implications for early titanosaur evolution (Poropat et al., 2023)Royal Society Open Science 10:221618 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected through PMC10090887. AODF0906 Ann skull, teeth and associated skeleton support referral to D. matildae; broad compressed crowns and less derived skull than many titanosaurs. Exact titanosaur placement depends on analysis. No taxon-specific reproductive/courtship behavior established. · Inspected: page
  2. Reappraisal of sauropod dinosaur diversity in the Winton Formation (Beeston et al., 2024)PeerJ 12:e17180 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected through Europe PMC XML PMC11011616 and UCL author-repository abstract. Revised diagnoses and specimen-level comparisons suggest Australotitan probably overlaps Diamantinasaurus, but authors conservatively refer its material to indeterminate Diamantinasauria. Proposal is not treated as settled synonymy. · Inspected: page
  3. A new giant sauropod, Australotitan cooperensis, from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia (Hocknull et al., 2021)PeerJ 9:e11317 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected through Europe PMC XML PMC8191491. Original limb/girdle diagnosis erects Australotitan as a separate genus and compares it with Diamantinasaurus; this is the competing interpretation considered against 2024 reappraisal. · Inspected: page
  4. Diamantinasaurus matildae — Queensland fossil emblem candidateQueensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet · Accessed 2026-10-05Full institutional profile inspected. Educational 15–16 m and 15–20 tonne estimates lack explicit individual and maturity scope. Billabong burial, mixed aquatic fossils and multiple sauropod specimens do not prove aquatic habits or a living herd. · Inspected: page
  5. Diamantinasaurus matildaeAustralian Museum · Accessed 2026-10-05Full institutional page inspected. Terrestrial stance, stout limbs and plant feeding reviewed; historical skull-unknown, age and precise derived-titanosaur placement are superseded or qualified by 2023–2024 research. No armor plates or aquatic behavior are demonstrated. · Inspected: page
  6. The palaeoenvironment of the Upper Cretaceous portion of the Winton Formation (Fletcher, Moss and Salisbury, 2018)PeerJ 6:e5513 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original paper inspected through Europe PMC XML PMC6130253. Warm seasonal rainfall, freshwater alluvial plain, low-energy meandering rivers, minor lakes and mires; conifers and early angiosperms. Formation-level environmental evidence, not direct stomach contents or an individual sauropod itinerary. · Inspected: page

THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS

Evidence behind Diamantinasaurus

The formation preserves a mosaic of river, lake and floodplain settings. Seasonal rainfall supported plant-rich habitats rather than a featureless desert. [6]

New comparisons can change dinosaur boundaries. A possible overlap is recorded conservatively while Diamantinasaurus retains its accepted name. [2]

A note on scale and time

The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.

Sources & editorial notes

Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.

  1. A nearly complete skull of Diamantinasaurus matildae and implications for early titanosaur evolution (Poropat et al., 2023)Royal Society Open Science 10:221618 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected through PMC10090887. AODF0906 Ann skull, teeth and associated skeleton support referral to D. matildae; broad compressed crowns and less derived skull than many titanosaurs. Exact titanosaur placement depends on analysis. No taxon-specific reproductive/courtship behavior established. · Inspected: page
  2. Reappraisal of sauropod dinosaur diversity in the Winton Formation (Beeston et al., 2024)PeerJ 12:e17180 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected through Europe PMC XML PMC11011616 and UCL author-repository abstract. Revised diagnoses and specimen-level comparisons suggest Australotitan probably overlaps Diamantinasaurus, but authors conservatively refer its material to indeterminate Diamantinasauria. Proposal is not treated as settled synonymy. · Inspected: page
  3. A new giant sauropod, Australotitan cooperensis, from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia (Hocknull et al., 2021)PeerJ 9:e11317 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected through Europe PMC XML PMC8191491. Original limb/girdle diagnosis erects Australotitan as a separate genus and compares it with Diamantinasaurus; this is the competing interpretation considered against 2024 reappraisal. · Inspected: page
  4. Diamantinasaurus matildae — Queensland fossil emblem candidateQueensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet · Accessed 2026-10-05Full institutional profile inspected. Educational 15–16 m and 15–20 tonne estimates lack explicit individual and maturity scope. Billabong burial, mixed aquatic fossils and multiple sauropod specimens do not prove aquatic habits or a living herd. · Inspected: page
  5. Diamantinasaurus matildaeAustralian Museum · Accessed 2026-10-05Full institutional page inspected. Terrestrial stance, stout limbs and plant feeding reviewed; historical skull-unknown, age and precise derived-titanosaur placement are superseded or qualified by 2023–2024 research. No armor plates or aquatic behavior are demonstrated. · Inspected: page
  6. The palaeoenvironment of the Upper Cretaceous portion of the Winton Formation (Fletcher, Moss and Salisbury, 2018)PeerJ 6:e5513 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original paper inspected through Europe PMC XML PMC6130253. Warm seasonal rainfall, freshwater alluvial plain, low-energy meandering rivers, minor lakes and mires; conifers and early angiosperms. Formation-level environmental evidence, not direct stomach contents or an individual sauropod itinerary. · Inspected: page

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