Largest Dinosaur Skeleton Found and Assembled in Japan

Scientists have pieced together the remains of the Mukawaryu, the largest dinosaur found in Japan. Researchers from the Hokkaido University Museum and Hobetsu Museum found parts of the 72 million-year-old dinosaur’s skeleton after conducting excavations in Hokkaido since 2013. The researchers have unearthed majority of the Mukawaryu’s overall estimated skeletal structure, and more than half of the bones have been identified. The assembled bones now reveal a clearer and more accurate image of the dinosaur’s anatomy. Despite having assembled the skeleton, Associate Professor Yoshitsugu Kobayashi of the Hokkaido University Museum emphasized that some of the Mukawaryu’s bones are still unidentified. Thus, the team will continue its research by further examining the creature’s bones. The research team also aims to gain a better understanding of the environment where the dinosaur lived and to find out if the creature has any related species. Meanwhile, the skeleton has been identified as belonging to a duck-billed dinosaur. Also known as hadrosaurs [HAD-ruh-sawrs], duck-billed dinosaurs were herbivores, or animals that only ate plants. They were land dinosaurs that lived in the continents of Eurasia, North and South America, and Antarctica. On another note, a skeleton of a duck-billed dinosaur has also been found in southern United States. A journal published in 2016 revealed that Birmingham Paleontological [pey-lee-on-tl-OJ-ik-kawl] Society members discovered a full duck-billed dinosaur skeleton, which included a complete skull, hip and limb bones, and parts of the creature’s backbone, in Alabama. The scientists found the discovery astonishing since it is considered rare to find dinosaur fossils in southern United States.