‘Horrible hand’ dinosaur, local Hadrosaurus full models unveiled

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MUKAWA, Hokkaido–Full model skeletons of a dinosaur known as the “horrible hand” found in Mongolia and another found here were unveiled to the media prior to making their world debut in July.

In 1965, a 2.4-meter-long forelimb fossil of the dinosaur Deinocheirus was discovered in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert in a stratum formed 70 million years ago.

But what a full skeleton of the species named after its huge claws looked like remained a mystery until recently.

An international team of scientists from Hokkaido University and other institutes discovered fossils of two Deinocheirus in 2006 and 2009 in the Gobi Desert.

The 12-meter-long, 4.5-meter-tall model, shown to reporters on April 11, was constructed based on the fossils.

The beast is believed to have used its long forelimbs like rakes to sweep up plants to eat.

The media also got a sneak peek at a full model skeleton of a Hadrosaurus dinosaur unearthed here. Fossils of more than 80 percent of all the bones of the 8-meter-long herbivore have been discovered and were used as the basis of the model.

The Deinocheirus and Hadrosaurus model skeletons will be displayed publicly for the first time from July 13 at the Dinosaur Expo 2019 at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo’s Ueno district.

The expo is jointly organized by the museum, The Asahi Shimbun and other parties.

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