Dino card No. 1226 of 2,027

Mythunga

Say it: my-THUN-guh

Name means: “star and hunter of the skies”1

Ate: FishFlying reptilesEarly CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Mythunga was a big flying reptile that soared over an ancient sea in Australia. It had a long, hollow snout and sharp teeth for catching fish. It was one of the largest pterosaurs from its region!1

Fun fact: pterosaurs flew over the dinosaurs, but they were their cousins, not dinosaurs themselves.

Lived

106 to 100 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Dunluce Station near Hughenden, north-central Queensland, Australia1

Food

Fish1 3

Wingspan

4.7 m1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

wings as wide as 2.5 bicycles in a row

How big was Mythunga compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Mythunga is the most complete pterosaur skull known from Australasia, even though only part of the skull and jaws are preserved.1

Its snout was hollow and box-like inside, with thin-walled chambers separated by struts, which made the skull light for flying.1

Mythunga had only three teeth between the last enlarged tooth and the opening in its snout, and these teeth were spaced widely apart.1

The fossil was found in 1991 by Philip Gilmore, and it may be from a young animal, so adults could have been even larger.1

Mythunga lived near the coast of the Eromanga Sea, a shallow inland sea that covered central Australia during the Early Cretaceous.1

Its teeth interlocked in a way typical of fish-eating pterosaurs, and the wide spacing may have helped it catch large fish.1

AI-made picture of Mythunga — An AI-made picture of how Mythunga 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 Mythunga

?How big was Mythunga?

Its wingspan was between 4 and 6 metres (13 to 20 ft). Its skull was about 80 centimetres to 1 metre (2.6 to 3.3 ft) long.2 1

?What did Mythunga eat?

It ate fish. Its interlocking teeth were typical of fish-eating pterosaurs, and the wide spacing may have helped it catch large fish.1

?When did Mythunga live?

Mythunga lived during the late Early Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago (Albian age).2 1

?Is Mythunga a dinosaur?

No, Mythunga is a pterosaur, a flying reptile that is not a dinosaur.2 1

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Mythunga was a dinosaur.

Truth: Mythunga was a pterosaur, a flying reptile that is not a dinosaur. Pterosaurs are a separate group of reptiles that evolved flight independently.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Mythunga
Named by: Molnar and Thulborn 20073
Group: Flying reptiles
Family / clade: Anhangueridae3
Classification: Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea3
Age of the rocks: 106 to 100 million years (Albian)3
Rock formations: Toolebuc3
Countries: Australia3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The partial skull was discovered in 1991 by Philip Gilmore on Dunluce Station in Queensland, Australia. It was named by Molnar and Thulborn in 2007.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Mythunga had a crest on its head, because the top of the snout is missing from the fossil.1

Where the facts come from

Mythunga camara - The Australian Museum (australian.museum)
Mythunga (en.wikipedia.org)
Mythunga 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.

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