The puzzle began in 1914 when a large curved tooth was found by a farmer near Hughenden, seemingly preserved in a rock dating back to the Cretaceous period of dinosaurs – 110 million years ago.
“We wanted to take a closer look at the specimen using state of the art analytical techniques to uncover the truth about the tooth,” Dr Knutsen said.
By researching the Queensland Museum archives, using geochemical analysis and advanced scanning techniques at the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne, Dr Knusten as able to determine exactly what type of creature the tooth belonged to.
The fossilised bone and the research undertaken is currently on display as part of Natural Curiosity: Discovering the secrets of Queensland's greatest collections.
The paper has been published in Gondwana Research
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