Australia had a mix of herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs, with many of the best-known finds coming from Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales.

Quick scoop

Some of the dinosaurs known from Australia include:

  • Muttaburrasaurus — a large herbivorous ornithopod.
  • Leaellynasaura — a small herbivorous dinosaur adapted to polar conditions.
  • Australovenator — a carnivorous theropod from Queensland.
  • Diamantinasaurus — a long-necked sauropod herbivore.
  • Atlascopcosaurus — a small plant-eater from Victoria.

Carnivores

Australia’s dinosaur fossils show that medium-sized meat-eaters were especially important, and recent research reports evidence for megaraptorids , carcharodontosaurs , and unenlagiines in southeastern Australia during the Early Cretaceous. Australia’s theropod record is limited overall, and the Australian Museum notes that Triassic and Jurassic theropod body fossils are not known from the continent.

Herbivores

Australia also had a strong lineup of plant-eaters, including ornithopods like Muttaburrasaurus , Leaellynasaura , and Atlascopcosaurus , plus giant sauropods like Diamantinasaurus and Australotitan. One source describes Australotitan as the largest known Australian dinosaur so far.

What makes them interesting

A lot of Australian dinosaur fossils come from the Cretaceous , when Australia was closer to Antarctica and had a very different climate and ecosystem. That helps explain why some Australian dinosaurs were adapted to colder, darker environments, especially in the south.

If you want, I can also give you:

  • a top 10 list of Australian dinosaurs , or
  • a table of Australian dinosaurs by herbivore/carnivore.