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Muttaburrasaurus

Say it: MUT-uh-BUR-uh-SORE-us
Name means: “Muttaburra lizard”1
Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersEarly Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

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

Lived
106 to 94 million years ago5
Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous
Fossils found in
Queensland and New South Wales, Australia1
Food
Plants2
Length
7 m1
Weight
2.8 tonnes to 8.854 tonnes3
estimates; 2.8 tonnes (initial), 7916 kg (volumetric), 8854 kg (stylopodial)

When did it live?

Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

Muttaburrasaurus about 7 m longA bicycle about 1.8 mA car about 4.5 mAn elephant, the biggest land animal today about 6.5 mA house about 10 m

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 6 cars
as long as 7 dogs nose to tailas long as 39 bananas end to endas heavy as 1.5 elephantsas heavy as 1800 watermelons

How big was Muttaburrasaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Muttaburrasaurus was the first Australian dinosaur to be cast and mounted for display.1

2

It lived near the edge of a huge inland sea called the Eromanga Sea that covered central Australia 110 million years ago.2

3

Muttaburrasaurus had an unusual, rounded bony snout that no other ornithopod had.1

4

Its tail was long and stiffened, and its forelimbs were smaller than its hindlimbs.1

5

The first skeleton was about 60% complete and was found washed up on an ancient coastline.1

6

Muttaburrasaurus is Australia's most widely distributed dinosaur, with fossils found in both Queensland and New South Wales.1

7

Opalised teeth and a shoulder blade from Lightning Ridge may belong to a different species of Muttaburrasaurus.1

AI-madeAI-made picture of Muttaburrasaurus
An AI-made picture of how Muttaburrasaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.
you asked

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

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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

  1. Dinosaurs - Muttaburrasaurus langdoni - The Australian Museum (australian.museum)
  2. What is a Muttaburrasaurus? - The Australian Museum (australian.museum)
  3. Muttaburrasaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
  4. Muttaburrasaurus | Western Australian Museum (museum.wa.gov.au)
  5. Muttaburrasaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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More from the same group: Beaked plant-eaters

Also from the same time: Late Cretaceous

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