Tyrannosauridae Also Lived in Japan - Tooth Fossils in Nagasaki
2015-07-16
Two tooth fossils presumed to be from the Tyrannosauridae family have been found in Late Cretaceous strata (about 81 million years ago) in Nagasaki Prefecture. The dinosaur is estimated to have been about 10 meters long.
One of the found teeth is 8.2 cm long, with a maximum root width of 3.8 cm and a thickness of 2.7 cm. Its horizontal cross-section is a bulging oval shape, similar to that of large Tyrannosaurus species.
The other tooth, although damaged, has recognizable saw-like serrations.
This is the first time a carnivorous dinosaur of the 10-meter class has been discovered in Japan.
Other dinosaur fossils have also been found in Nagasaki Prefecture, which is drawing attention as a land where diverse dinosaurs lived.
The Tyrannosauridae family includes the type species Tyrannosaurus, as well as Tarbosaurus and Daspletosaurus.
New Dinosaur Species in Alaska - Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis
2015-09-27
A new species of dinosaur has been found in northwestern Alaska. It is an ornithopod, a herbivorous dinosaur about 9 meters long. It is considered a member of the hadrosaur family, which had duck-billed mouths.
The discovery site was located even further north during the Cretaceous period than it is today, and it is described as a "dinosaur that survived in the Arctic." (However, it was not as cold as the current Arctic, with the annual average temperature in the Cretaceous Arctic being about 4°C.)
It was named "Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis" (meaning "ancient grazer of the Colville River" in the language of the Iñupiat, the indigenous people of Alaska). We will have to await detailed research findings on "how Arctic dinosaurs survived the dark, snowy winters that lasted for months."