Scott A. Hocknull; Matt A. White; Travis R. Tischler; Alex G. Cook; Naomi D. Calleja; Trish Sloan; David A. Elliott

“ The shaft is cranio-caudally compressed so that the medial and lateral margins form two opposing crests. Half way along the flexor surface a raised muscle scar extends to the distally expanded end. The distal condyles are asymmetrical with the cranial condyle offset ventrally to the caudal condyle which is bulbous and possesses a deep ligament pit. No deep pit occurs on the cranial side. A sharp triangular process juts out along the distal portion of the extensor crest. ”

“ The medial and posterior processes dominate the tri-radiate processes, with the cranio-medial process being longest. The cranio-medial process possesses a broad articulation, strongly concave in lateral view. Olecranon distinct and rounded, projecting above proximal articulation. The distal articular end is sub-triangular with each apex rounded. Cranio-medial process forms a crest along the diaphysis, which runs the entire length of the ulna, terminating at the distal margin. ”

“ The dorsal margins of four isolated neural spines are preserved with rounded quadrangular dorsal surfaces. The neural spines are relatively stout with broad triangular bases, probably less than 20% of the total vertebral height. Each possesses complex camellate internal pneumatic structure and simplified prespinal and postspinal laminae. A ridge extends from the base of the prespinal lamina across the lateral face of the neural spine toward the expansion for the prezygopophysis. ”

“ The ratio of mid-shaft width to total humerus length is 0.16, which is considered to be a gracile element (<0.20 [24] ) , however, the proximal breadth to total length ratio equals 0.37, which is considered to represent a stout ulna (>33% [24] ) . These ratios reflect the narrow and gracile diaphysis of the ulnae, compared to the massively expanded proximal epiphyses, where the lateral and medial processes are extended into narrow crests from the main shaft. The medial process is longer than the other two processes, forming a distinctly tri-radiate cross-sectional shape. ”

“ The occurrence of Australovenator from the Aptian to latest Albian confirms the presence in Australia of allosauroids basal to the Carcharodontosauridae. These new taxa, along with the fragmentary remains of other taxa, indicate a diverse Early Cretaceous sauropod and theropod fauna in Australia, including plesiomorphic forms (e.g. Wintonotitan and Australovenator) and more derived forms (e.g. Diamantinasaurus) .
Introduction
Australia's dinosaur fossil record is extremely poor relative to faunas recovered from similar-sized land-masses (e.g. North America, South America and Africa) . ”

“ Pedal phalanges of Australovenator wintonensis.Phalanges in dorsal (A, G, M, S) , ventral (B, H, N, T) , lateral (C, I, O, U) , medial (D, J, P, V) , proximal (E, K, Q, W) and distal (F, L, R, X) views. Left Mt II 1–3 were all recovered within close proximity to one another and articulate together. The first phalange is stout with a tall cranio-caudal proximal articular facet, bordered by a thick rim. The distal condyle preserves a medial and lateral condyle divided by a wide and shallow groove. The distal articular face is wider than the proximal articular face. ”

“ The dinosaur remains described here were excavated from the basal portion of the Winton Formation and are close by (∼3 km) the type locality for Lovellea wintonensis [6] , a silicified angiosperm flora associated with pollens. These pollens indicate a Phimopollenites pannosus palynomorph Zone sequence and have been suggested as latest Albian in age [6] . Therefore, we consider the age of the dinosaur remains to be latest Albian in age. A recent appraisal of the age and interpreted geological settings of the Winton Formation is available [19] , [6] , [20] . ”

“ Although the phylogenetic analyses of the Winton sauropods returned poor statistical support, the consistent placement of Wintonotitan as a basal titanosauriform and Diamantinasaurus as a derived lithostrotian titanosaur illustrates the diversity of Cretaceous sauropods in Australia as similar to that found on any other continent.
The analysis of Australovenator provides a more robust result. The basal position of Australovenator to the Carcharodontosauridae; the close morphological similarities to the more plesiomorphic allosauroid Fukuiraptor from Japan ”

“ Ischia with distinct iliac peduncle on a narrow shaft leading to a broad ischial blade, which is fused to the opposite ischium along the mid-line of the pelvic girdle. Femur robust with lateral bulge; intermediate robusticity (autapomorphic) ; distal condyles bevelled dorso-medially; shaft elliptical in cross-section and deflected medially. Tibia robust; proximal articular condyle sub-equally expanded; cnemial crest projects cranially then laterally (autapomorphic) ; ovoid distal articular surface; distal breadth more than twice that of mid-shaft. ”

“ Australia's dinosaurian fossil record is exceptionally poor compared to that of other similar-sized continents. Most taxa are known from fragmentary isolated remains with uncertain taxonomic and phylogenetic placement. ”

“ Based on the synapomorphies provided by others, Wintonotitan may also be considered in the Titanosauria and Diamantinasaurus within the Saltasauridae.
Due to the low bootstrap support for these analyses, further speculation on their relationships will await a more detailed analysis of titanosaur generic-level relationships. By increasing the number of tree steps by 2 in both analyses, each clade containing Wintonotitan and Diamantinasaurus collapses into an unresolved polytomy. ”

“ Faunal remains recovered from QML 313 include the semi-articulated and associated skeleton of a sauropod, along with fragmentary remains of fish and an isolated theropod tooth. Most of the sauropod bone elements have been abraded prior to deposition; however, all are clearly associated with a single individual. Fossil remains from QML 313 are preserved in coarsely bedded sandstone overlying fine-grained clay. ”

“ A primary and secondary series of neurovascular foramina are present on the antero-labial face of the dentary. The primary neurovascular foramina are present ventral to the dorsal margin of the dentary, paralleling this margin and not deflected ventrally. Two small secondary neurovascular foramina are located ventral to the anterior-most primary neurovascular foramina. Measurements in Table S17.
Axial Skeleton Dorsal Ribs (Figure 23A–F)
Several dorsal ribs are preserved including the first right dorsal rib, second or third right dorsal rib and seventh or eighth left dorsal rib. ”