One branch of theropods were giants in South America while another filled smaller niches, but in Australia they reversed roles.

The research, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology on Thursday, identifies five new species of four-legged dinosaurs whose fossils were unearthed from Victoria’s coastline. Researchers excavated dinosaur shin bones and vertebrae at two fossil sites in Victoria – the upper Strzelecki Group dated to 121 million years ago and the Eumeralla Formation from about 113 million years ago.

Fossils of the world’s oldest megaraptorid and the first-ever carcharodontosaurs in Australia have been discovered, completely altering the known predator hierarchy of the Cretaceous era. These finds suggest that,