Muttaburrasaurus
Muttaburrasaurus was a big, plant-eating dinosaur that lived in ancient Australian forests. It had a long, rounded snout and could walk on two legs or all fours. It is one of the most complete dinosaurs ever found in Australia.12
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
How heavy was it?
How big was Muttaburrasaurus compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Fun facts
Muttaburrasaurus was the first Australian dinosaur to be cast and mounted for display.1
It lived near the edge of a huge inland sea called the Eromanga Sea that covered central Australia 110 million years ago.2
Muttaburrasaurus had an unusual, rounded bony snout that no other ornithopod had.1
Its tail was long and stiffened, and its forelimbs were smaller than its hindlimbs.1
The first skeleton was about 60% complete and was found washed up on an ancient coastline.1
Muttaburrasaurus is Australia's most widely distributed dinosaur, with fossils found in both Queensland and New South Wales.1
Opalised teeth and a shoulder blade from Lightning Ridge may belong to a different species of Muttaburrasaurus.1

Most asked questions about Muttaburrasaurus
?How big was Muttaburrasaurus?
Muttaburrasaurus was about 7 to 8 metres long. It weighed around 2.8 tonnes, though some recent estimates suggest it could have been much heavier, up to about 8854 kg.123
?What did Muttaburrasaurus eat?
Muttaburrasaurus was mainly a plant-eater, eating ferns, cycads, club-mosses and podocarps. Some scientists have suggested it might sometimes have eaten meat, based on the shape of its teeth.12
?Could Muttaburrasaurus walk on two legs or four?
Muttaburrasaurus may have been able to move on either its two back legs or on all four legs. It probably walked on all fours when feeding and ran on two legs.14
?Where was Muttaburrasaurus found?
Muttaburrasaurus was first discovered near the town of Muttaburra in central Queensland, Australia. It is Australia's most widely distributed dinosaur, with fossils found in both Queensland and New South Wales.21
?When did Muttaburrasaurus live?
Muttaburrasaurus lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 110 million years ago. The original skeleton was found in rocks that formed about 105 to 103 million years ago.24
?Why did Muttaburrasaurus have a bump on its snout?
The bony bump on its snout may have been used to make calls or for its sense of smell. Some scientists thought it was a resonating chamber for sounds, but later research suggests it was just part of the elongated snout.43
?Was Muttaburrasaurus bigger than T. rex?
Muttaburrasaurus was about 8 metres long, which is smaller than T. rex, which could be over 12 metres long. However, some recent estimates suggest Muttaburrasaurus could have weighed as much as some smaller T. rex specimens.3
?Did Muttaburrasaurus have teeth?
Yes, Muttaburrasaurus had back teeth that were tightly packed to form shearing blades, but it had no front teeth. Instead, its upper and lower jaws were covered with a beak made of keratin.4

Ask Rex about Muttaburrasaurus
Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.
Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Muttaburrasaurus
- Named by
- Bartholomai and Molnar 19815
- Group
- Beaked plant-eaters
- Family / clade
- Elasmaria5
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia5
- Age of the rocks
- 106 to 94 million years (Albian / Cenomanian)5
- Rock formations
- Allaru Mudstone, Mackunda5
- Countries
- Australia5
- Fossil records
- 3 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Muttaburrasaurus was named by Alan Bartholomai and Ralph Molnar in 1981. The first partial skeleton was found near the town of Muttaburra in central Queensland.51
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure how Muttaburrasaurus is related to other ornithopods. It might be closely related to Tenontosaurus, but this is still debated.1
Where the facts come from
- Dinosaurs - Muttaburrasaurus langdoni - The Australian Museum (australian.museum)
- What is a Muttaburrasaurus? - The Australian Museum (australian.museum)
- Muttaburrasaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Muttaburrasaurus | Western Australian Museum (museum.wa.gov.au)
- Muttaburrasaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex