3,386 Fossils, Including Early Cretaceous Iguanodontians, Discovered in Katsuyama, Fukui
2017-03-15
Over 3,000 fossils were found clustered together in the Kitadani Formation of the Tetori Group in Fukui Prefecture (120 million years old, Early Cretaceous). These include 3,386 vertebrate fossils, including the maxilla of an iguanodontian believed to be the herbivorous dinosaur Fukuisaurus.
The breakdown is as follows: 106 dinosaur fossils, 49 fish fossils, 1,079 turtle fossils, 169 crocodile fossils, and 1,973 other vertebrate fossils.
The iguanodontian maxilla is the upper jaw bone from the right side of the head, excavated in a nearly complete state, measuring 18.8 cm in length, 4.3 cm in width, and 9.0 cm in height.
The main fossils excavated this time were found within a mere 5-meter square area, leading to speculation that the location was a place where carcasses tended to accumulate, such as a riverbed, during the Early Cretaceous.
Armored Dinosaur Teeth Discovered in Katsuyama, Fukui
2017-11-17
Two teeth believed to be from an armored dinosaur (Thyreophora - Ankylosauria) were found in the Kitadani Formation of the Tetori Group in Fukui Prefecture (120 million years old, Early Cretaceous).
One of the discovered tooth fossils is 24 mm long, 5.5 mm wide, and 3.5 mm thick, while the other is 10 mm long, 6 mm wide, and 3 mm thick. The tips have the saw-like serrations characteristic of armored dinosaurs, and the "cingulum," a band-like projection at the base, is also preserved. They are thought to belong to the Nodosauridae family.
Nodosaurids lived from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous in North America, Asia, Antarctica, and Europe. Nodosaurus and Edmontonia are representative examples. In 2012, a fossil believed to be from a nodosaurid was discovered on the grounds of the Goddard Space Flight Center (a NASA field center for satellite control and communications) in Maryland, USA.