Named after the town of Muttaburra in central Queensland, Muttaburrasaurus langdoni was discovered by local grazier Doug Langdon, for whom the dinosaur is named. Muttaburrasaurus lived around 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period. It was a herbivore, with rows of grinding teeth. Several specimens of this dinosaur have been found in central and northern Queensland, and a few teeth have been found in New South Wales. Muttaburrasaurus was about 7m long, and probably ate plants such as ferns, cycads and conifers. It may have lived in herds.
Muttaburrasaurus langdoni (1969) by Peter Waddington, Queensland MuseumQueensland Museum Network
Muttaburrasaurus langdoni (1969) by Peter Waddington, Queensland MuseumQueensland Museum Network
After nearly two decades of careful preparation by Queensland Museum staff, the bones revealed a new species of ornithopod dinosaur. The specimen was formally described as Muttaburrasaurus langdoni by palaeontologists, Dr Alan Bartholomai and Dr Ralph Molnar, in 1981.
Muttaburrasaurus langdoni (1969) by Peter Waddington, Queensland MuseumQueensland Museum Network
Muttaburrasaurus is one of the best known and most complete dinosaur fossils in Australia. It grew to about 7m long and was 3m high at the hip. A herbivore, the dinosaur is estimated to have weighed about 2800 kg and it could walk on two or four legs.
Muttaburrasaurus langdoni (1969) by Peter Waddington, Queensland MuseumQueensland Museum Network
A unique feature of Muttaburrasaurus is its large rounded snout, which has hollow internal chambers. Scientists believe these chambers may have been used to enhance the animals sense of smell. Alternatively, they may also have formed a resonating chamber, enabling the animal to make loud hooting sounds to communicate with other members of its species.
Images and text from: In Search of Ancient Queensland.
Principal Authors: Dr Alex Cook and Dr Andrew Rozefelds.
Published by the Queensland Museum, 2015.
Photographers: Peter Waddington, Gary Cranitch
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