Sydney  - The bones of three new species of dinosaur have been found in the Australian Outback, officials said Friday.

One, a carnivore nicknamed Banjo, stood 2 metres tall and had three large claws on each hand. The other two were plant-eaters, Clancy and Matilda, and were much larger.

The trio roamed the Earth around 100 million years ago.

Queensland Museum palaeontologist Scott Hucknell described Banjo as "the cheetah of his time" who "could run down most prey with ease over open ground."

Banjo and Matilda, who were possibly predator and victim - were found buried together in a 98 million-year-old dried-up water hole in Winton in western Queensland.

Hucknell said details of the dinosaurs had been published in the journal Public Library of Science One.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh spoke about the find at the about-to-open Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History in Winton.

"These discoveries are a major breakthrough in the scientific understanding of prehistoric life in Australia," Bligh told reporters in Winton.

Winton has proved a treasure trove for palaeontologists. In 2001, a local farmer found the fossilized remains of a dinosaur while mustering sheep.(dpa)