Society | Apr 18

Life-size skeletal replica of Japan's largest dinosaur restored

What is believed to be Japan’s largest fossilized dinosaur skeleton has been restored as a life-size replica, researchers and officials from the town of Mukawa, in Hokkaido, where the original discovery was made, said Wednesday.

The replica of the 8-meter-long and 4-meter-tall plant-eating Hadrosaurid, dubbed “Mukawaryu,” was created with duplicates of the actual fossils unearthed from a 72 million-year-old geological layer. The replica and the fossils will be displayed at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo for three months from July 13.

“A standing Mukawaryu has been resurrected after 72 million years. I hope it will help liven up our town,” Mukawa Mayor Yoshiyuki Takenaka said.

The excavation involving Hokkaido University members began in 2013 after local fossil collector Yoshiyuki Horita found a fossilized tail bone in 2003 in the Hobetsu district of Mukawa. More than 1,000 fossil bones were eventually unearthed, making it the largest complete dinosaur skeleton ever found in the country.

Complete skeletons are generally defined as containing more than 50 percent of the bones, but for the Mukawaryu, over 80 percent were unearthed as fossils.


MORE Society NEWS

The Imperial Household Agency has announced that Princess Kako, the second daughter of the Akishino family, is scheduled to visit Greece in late May to promote international goodwill.

The Taiji Town Whale Museum in Wakayama Prefecture conducted a memorial service on Tuesday for marine mammals and fish that have died in captivity.

A startling projection has been unveiled, suggesting that if current trends continue, every Japanese person might eventually be named 'Sato'.

POPULAR NEWS

Four men have been arrested by Tokyo police for allegedly recruiting women for prostitution in the United States via a website, promising encounters with affluent clients and high earnings.

For the first time in 73 years, Japan has unveiled a newly constructed whaling mother ship, equipped with drone technology for whaling operations in the Antarctic Sea.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Nara Prefecture has disciplined its former Youth Division Chief following a controversial dance party incident.

Residents of Japan's oldest student dormitory, self-managed for over 100 years, are digging in as Kyoto University attempts to evict them from the premises.

A Japan Airlines flight en route from Melbourne to Narita Airport encountered sudden severe turbulence on April 1, causing injuries to several cabin crew, including a broken leg.

FOLLOW US