New dinosaur species found in Hokkaido given ‘god’ name

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A new plant-eating dinosaur species identified from fossils unearthed in Hokkaido was given a scientific name that expresses the meaning, “god of Japanese dinosaurs,” in the Ainu language.

A report on the Mukawa dinosaur by a research team that included scientists from Hokkaido University was published Sept. 6 in the British journal Scientific Reports.

The Mukawa dinosaur belongs to the hadrosauridae family and is believed to have moved around in herds.

The herbivore found is believed to have been an adult 9 years old or older that was 8 meters long and weighed between 4 and 5.3 tons.

According to the research paper, an examination of its skull indicated that it had a crest on the top of its head.

In 2003, the first fossil was discovered in Mukawa, Hokkaido, from a geological layer dating back 72 million years to the late Cretaceous Period.

Later, about 80 percent of its fossilized skeleton was unearthed.

It was given the scientific name Kamuysaurus japonicus.

According to team leader Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, a professor of stratigraphy and paleontology at Hokkaido University Museum, the name includes “Kamuy,” meaning “god” in the language of the Ainu indigenous people of Hokkaido.

The Mukawa dinosaur fossils will be on display at the Dinosaur Expo 2019 at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo’s Ueno district until Oct. 14.

The Asahi Shimbun is one of the sponsors of the event.

(This article was written by Hitoshi Tanohata and Masahiro Yoneyama.)

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