Muttaburrasaurus

Muttaburrasaurus langdoni

Muttaburrasaurus was one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons found in Australia. It had an enlarged, bulbous snout that may have been used for display or producing sounds. It lived during the Early Cretaceous when Australia was closer to the South Pole.

Physical Description

Measurement	Value	Human Scale
Length	7.0 m	roughly the length of a large SUV
Height	2.5 m	—
Weight	2.8 t	comparable to 2.8 small cars

Diet & Feeding

Herbivore

Muttaburrasaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur. Herbivores typically fed on ferns, cycads, conifers, and other vegetation available during their era. Many herbivorous dinosaurs developed specialized teeth and digestive systems for processing tough plant material.

Time Period

Cretaceous Early Mesozoic Era

Muttaburrasaurus lived during the Cretaceous Early period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 145.0 to 100.5 million years ago.

The Cretaceous saw continued dinosaur evolution with the rise of ornithopods and early ceratopsians. Flowering plants first appeared and began to transform terrestrial ecosystems. Spinosaurus and other large theropods lived during this time.

Discovery & Naming

Named By	Alan Bartholomai & Ralph Molnar
Discovery Year	1981
Discovery Location	Muttaburra, Queensland, Australia

Classification

Dinosauria → Ornithischia → Muttaburrasaurus

Bird-hipped dinosaurs

The second major dinosaur order, characterized by a bird-like hip structure. Includes a diverse array of herbivorous dinosaurs such as stegosaurs, ankylosaurs, ceratopsians, and hadrosaurs.