The skeleton belongs to a species of herbivorous hadrosaurid dinosaur, or duck-billed, and was named Kamuysaurus japonicus, according to a press release from Hokkaido University.
Scientists from Hokkaido University and Hobetsu Museum, in a joint excavation, first found a partial tail in 2013 then discovered the almost entire skeleton in following digs.
It turns out it's the largest dinosaur ever found in the country at 26 feet long and weighing between 4 and 5.3 tons, depending on whether it walked on two or four legs, CNN reported.
Japanese scientists have identified a new species of dinosaur from a nearly complete skeleton that was the largest ever discovered in the country, measuring eight metres (26 feet) longhttps://t.co/kGKfqN8H8y
— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 6, 2019
Researchers at Hokkaido University believe the animal was an adult around 9 years old or more and that it had a crest, which would mean it might have resembled Brachylophosaurus, whose fossils have been unearthed in North America.
The dinosaur most likely lived on coastlines near the ocean, which was an important factor in it early evolution, especially in North America, Hokkaido University said.
The study on the new dinosaur was published in Scientific Reports.
A new kind of duck-billed dinosaur has been discovered in Japan — the largest dinosaur skeleton ever found in the country https://t.co/d4SQWttSW5
— CNN (@CNN) September 6, 2019
Researchers believe they have now unlocked the secret to how Tyrannosaurus rex maintained a cool head. The carnivorous dinosaur had something akin to an air conditioner in its skull, according to a new study. https://t.co/4aamBsc6BW
— CNN (@CNN) September 6, 2019
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