In 2008 paleontologist Ralph Molnar and Richard A. Thulborn described Mythunga camara, a new species of pterosaur from Australia known from a partial skull. It was discovered in 100-million-year-old rocks from the Toolebuc Formation in central Queensland, almost 400 km (250 miles) west of the coastal city of Townsville. The Toolebuc Formation is made up of marine mudstones and limestones deposited in a shallow near-shore lagoon or sheltered sea.
The skull fragment is 21.5 cm (8.5 inches) long and represents a portion of the skull and mandible from the middle portion of the snout. The rear part of the fragment preserves part of large opening in the snout housing the nostrils and a large facial sinus. There are several widely spaced teeth preserved in the upper and lower jaws. Each tooth is conical and slightly recurved. The dorsal surface of the skull is broken and incomplete. The bones of the skull exposed there show a chambered or corrugated internal texture. Although the jaw tips are unknown in Mythunga, many close relatives have semi-circular crests on or near the ends of the upper and lower jaws. Comparing the size of what's preserved of Mythunga to similar pterosaurs indicates that its wingspan would be 4.7 meters (15.5 feet).
When Mythunga was first described by Molnar and Thulborn in 2008, they did not assign it to any particular family. They did however, note several similarities between Mythunga and the ornithocheirids and istiodactylids. Both families are made up of tooth-bearing short-tailed members, and are thought to be soaring fish eaters. Both are also part of a larger group known as the ornithocheiroids which also includes the toothed anhanguerids and toothless pteranodontids and nyctosaurids. In a 2013 book on pterosaurs, Mark Witton regarded Mythunga to be an ornithocheirid.
Like other ornithocheirids, Mythunga is thought to have been a soaring fish-eater. The size and spacing of the teeth suggest that Mythunga could take fairly large prey. The formation it was found in was a near-shore shallow marine environment. At the time, this location was at about 50° S latitude, similar to the modern location of the Falkland Islands. However, it was also deposited during a period of high global temperatures making the location much more temperate than the Falklands. The shallow, sheltered sea was surely home to abundant fish, squid, and other food items.
Ornithocheiridae