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The collection/Muttaburrasaurus

EXHIBIT 217

Muttaburrasaurus

Muttaburrasaurus langdoni

Dinosaur

Muttaburrasaurus was a large ornithopod with a distinctive rounded muzzle; new research reveals front teeth and complex snout chambers. [1]

Evidence profile

TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST

Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.

01 / SOURCE-INFORMED RECONSTRUCTION

A life reconstruction from the evidence

Illustrative life reconstruction of Muttaburrasaurus in a period-appropriate environment; coloration and missing anatomy are interpretations.

An illustrative reconstruction. Compare its anatomy with the evidence and limitations in the dossier. [1]

Source-informed reconstruction. Appearance evidence [1]. Original illustration; missing anatomy, coloration and scenery include interpretation.

Fossils constrain this life reconstruction. Missing anatomy, coloration and the environmental scene include interpretation; the dossier explains the evidence limits.

02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION

A cinematic imagination

Illustrative reconstruction of Muttaburrasaurus langdoni; missing anatomy, pose and colors are hypotheses.

An illustrative reconstruction. Compare its anatomy with the evidence and limitations in the dossier. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.

Original artwork · artistic interpretation.

Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.

PERIODLate Cretaceous[1]
DIETHerbivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDAustralia[2]
CompareRead the dossierView the sources

MEET THE ANIMAL

Meet Muttaburrasaurus

Muttaburrasaurus was a large Australian ornithopod, a member of the plant-eating dinosaur group that includes many beaked forms. Its rounded snout made its skull especially distinctive. The main fossil is a partial skeleton from Queensland, while some other material may represent different species. Museum reconstructions give a length of about seven metres, but that convenient reference is not a measured maximum for every member of the genus. [D2]

New research published in 2026 changes parts of its familiar image. Detailed study found that the front upper jaw had five developed tooth positions, rather than being completely toothless. The researchers also identified paired bones forming the roof and chambers of its muzzle. New dating places the type locality in the Cenomanian part of the Late Cretaceous, showing why older museum timelines sometimes need to be updated. [D1]

Its limbs suggest that it could support itself on its hindlegs and perhaps also use all four legs. Researchers have long proposed that the unusual snout might have affected sounds or other senses. Such possibilities are worth investigating, but they do not tell us its actual call or prove a mating display. The difference between a fossil structure and a behavior inferred from it remains important. [D3]

PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER

A life in profile.

The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.

A 2026 cranial revision identifies premaxillary teeth and places the type locality in the Cenomanian, revising familiar older portrayals. [D1]

Profile scope: Genus — Muttaburrasaurus langdoni; the Queensland holotype QMF6140 anchors this account. Some other Australian referrals may represent different species. [D2]

Time
Late Cretaceous
Fossil locations in this exhibit
Australia
How to read the evidence

Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.

A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.

Body length

Inferred

About 7 m (educational reference)

The museum does not give an explicit measured fossil individual or mature species range for this reference. [D2]

Body mass

Not established

Not established here

The reviewed cranial study provides no maturity-qualified whole-body mass estimate adopted here. [D1]

Diet and feeding

Inferred

Primarily plant feeding inferred

Browsing is supported by cranial anatomy; possible animal foods are hypotheses. No particular meal is preserved in the reviewed account. [D2]

Habitat and setting

Inferred

Terrestrial coastal forest landscape

Queensland fossils occur near the former inland sea. Coastline burial does not turn this land dinosaur into a swimming specialist. [D2]

Movement

Inferred

Two-legged capability inferred

Limb proportions support bipedality, with possible four-legged movement. [D3]

Recognizable anatomy

Source supported

Rounded muzzle and front upper teeth

The 2026 revision identifies paired prenasal bones and five developed premaxillary tooth positions, correcting a wholly toothless-front reconstruction. [D1]

Reproduction & life together

Reproduction and nesting

Not established

Not established here

The reviewed institutional descriptions and focused searches do not identify assigned eggs, nests, clutch size or parental care. [D3]

Mating and courtship

Not established

Not established here

Suggested sound production is not fossil evidence of mating calls, mate choice or sex-specific display. [D3]

Social behavior

Not established

Not established here

Cranial sensory models discuss possible conspecific interaction. Vision or hearing capability alone does not establish actual herds. [D1]

Dossier research & sources

Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.

  1. Cranial anatomy, palaeoneurology, palaeobiology and stratigraphic age of Muttaburrasaurus langdoni (Herne et al., 2026)PeerJ 14:e20794 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected through official NCBI BioC XML for PMC13070326, plus author-institution abstract. QMF6140 has five developed premaxillary tooth positions and paired prenasals; front crowns are partly reconstructed. Detrital-zircon type-locality maximum depositional estimate 96.3 ± 8.6 Ma interpreted as Cenomanian. Sensory/locomotor/feeding proposals are models; herding and low-frequency communication are possible implications, not observed behavior. · Inspected: page
  2. Muttaburrasaurus langdoniAustralian Museum · Accessed 2026-10-05Full institutional page inspected: 7 m educational reference; long stiffened tail, reduced forelimbs, terrestrial coastal forest context and partial skeleton. Some skull/Lightning Ridge referrals may be other species. Earlier Early Cretaceous age, toothless-front and simple chewing portrayals are not adopted against the 2026 revision. · Inspected: page
  3. Muttaburrasaurus — Dinosaur DiscoveryWestern Australian Museum · Accessed 2026-10-05Full institutional educational page inspected. Distinctive snout, primarily plant-eating interpretation and two-/four-legged capability discussed. Older toothless-front and dating statements are superseded by the 2026 original study; snout calling hypotheses do not establish courtship or herds. · Inspected: page

THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS

Evidence behind Muttaburrasaurus

A rounded snout once encouraged simple explanations about calling. Its internal anatomy is now being examined with detailed cranial scans. [3]

The familiar museum reconstruction represents a large land dinosaur. Where its bones were buried must be distinguished from where it lived. [2]

A note on scale and time

The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.

Sources & editorial notes

Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.

  1. Cranial anatomy, palaeoneurology, palaeobiology and stratigraphic age of Muttaburrasaurus langdoni (Herne et al., 2026)PeerJ 14:e20794 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected through official NCBI BioC XML for PMC13070326, plus author-institution abstract. QMF6140 has five developed premaxillary tooth positions and paired prenasals; front crowns are partly reconstructed. Detrital-zircon type-locality maximum depositional estimate 96.3 ± 8.6 Ma interpreted as Cenomanian. Sensory/locomotor/feeding proposals are models; herding and low-frequency communication are possible implications, not observed behavior. · Inspected: page
  2. Muttaburrasaurus langdoniAustralian Museum · Accessed 2026-10-05Full institutional page inspected: 7 m educational reference; long stiffened tail, reduced forelimbs, terrestrial coastal forest context and partial skeleton. Some skull/Lightning Ridge referrals may be other species. Earlier Early Cretaceous age, toothless-front and simple chewing portrayals are not adopted against the 2026 revision. · Inspected: page
  3. Muttaburrasaurus — Dinosaur DiscoveryWestern Australian Museum · Accessed 2026-10-05Full institutional educational page inspected. Distinctive snout, primarily plant-eating interpretation and two-/four-legged capability discussed. Older toothless-front and dating statements are superseded by the 2026 original study; snout calling hypotheses do not establish courtship or herds. · Inspected: page

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