Muttaburrasaurus

Say it like this: “muht-a-BUHR-a-SAWR-us”

Muttaburrasaurus langdoni

Muttaburrasaurus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous · Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Australia.

Quiz me on Muttaburrasaurus

When: Early Cretaceous · Late Cretaceous (Albian · Cenomanian) · roughly 113.2 to 93.9 million years ago
Named in: 1981 · Bartholomai, A.; Molnar, R. E.
Hip height: 2.7 m · 9 ft
Length: 8 m · 26 ft
Weight: 2.8–8.9 tonnes
Found in: Australia · Mackunda
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Elasmaria

The story in short

The genus Muttaburrasaurus dates to 1981, the year A. Bartholomai and R. E. Molnar described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Muttaburrasaurus date to the Early Cretaceous · Late Cretaceous (Albian · Cenomanian), roughly 113.2 to 93.9 million years ago. Finds come from Australia, including the Mackunda Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Muttaburrasaurus at a length near 8 m, hips about 2.7 m high, and a body mass around 2.8–8.9 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Elasmaria, among the ornithopod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Anabisetia

Anabisetia saldiviai

Late Cretaceous (Turonian) · roughly 93.9 to 89.8 million years ago

Atlascopcosaurus

Atlascopcosaurus loadsi

Early Cretaceous (Barremian · Aptian · Albian) · roughly 125.8 to 100.5 million years ago

Chakisaurus

Chakisaurus nekul

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago