Describer

Bartholomai & Molnar, 1981

Time

Cretaceous Early Albian

Classification

Ornithischia Ornithopoda Iguanodontia Incertae Sedis

Diet

Herbivore

Fossilsite

Griman Creek Formation, New South Wales; Mackunda Formation, Queensland, Australia

Length

7 meter

Info

Genus - Typespecies - Skull

Skull and postcrania, fragmentary skeleton

Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, from the early Cretaceous marine deposits of central Queensland Australia is named after the town of Muttaburra, close to where it was first discovered on the banks of the Thompson River in 1963 by a local grazier , Mr D.Langdon of Muttaburra. Its skeleton was buried in shallow water marine sediments with a rich assemblage of molluscs [bivalves, gastopods and occasioned ammonites]. This suggests that the carcass was washed out to sea after death, sank and was buried with marine vertebrates.

It was able to walk about on its hind legs, but probably spent much of its time browsing on all fours.Its an Australian relative of Iguanodon, Muttaburrasaurus had a hollow arch above its snout, as in some hadrosaurs. Its toothless beak was similar to Iguanodon\\\\\\\'s, but its cheek teeth were adapted for shearing (cutting), unlike the grinding cheek teeth of Iguanodon. Muttaburrasaurus had a large head, strong arms, and hands with five digits, including spiky thumbs.

Muttaburrasaurus is not known from such well-preserved material as the other iguanodontids. But those features that have survived seem to share similarities with the iguanodontids, and in particular with Camptosaurus. However, unlike Camptosaurus the head has a large bump between the nostrils at the front of the snout -different from the double bumps seen behind the nostrils in Ouranosaurus. Unfortunately, the hand is not completely known, so it is not certain that it possessed a large thumb-spike as did Iguanodon or Ouranosaurus.

Muttaburrasaurus was mainly a plant eater, it may also have been partly carnivorous.In 1987 a second skull quite badly crushed was collected from Dunluce station, between Hughenden and Richmond in north-central Queensland, by Mary Wade. It appears more complete than the original, although given the slight age difference this may not belong to the same species as Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, so has been designated as a Muttaburrasaurus sp. Fragments of a third have been found at Iona, also near Hughenden.

Two teeth from Lightning Ridge in New South Wales may also have belonged to Muttaburrasaurus. In 1990, ornithopod experts David Norman and David Weishampel reviewed the Iguanodontidae and found that Muttaburrasaurus could not be classified beyond an iguanodontia .
 

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Carpenter & Ishida (2010) Early and “Middle” Cretaceous Iguanodonts in Time and Space Journal of Iberian Geology 36 (2) 145-164

Muttaburrasaurus langdoni Bartholomai and Molnar 1981

Locality

Muttaburra, Queensland, Australia

Horizon

Mackunda Formation

Age

Late Albian (Dettmann et al., 2009)

Comments

The ilium has a very sinuous dorsal edge that arcs over the acetabulum then down into a broad suprailiac notch. The preacetabular process is incomplete, but did border a wide preacetabular notch. The lateral iliac crest extends to the distal end of the postacetabular process. The ischial peduncle does not extend onto the lateral surface.
 

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