Futabasaurus

For the informally named dinosaur, see Futabasaurus (dinosaur).
Futabasaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, Santonian
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Reconstructed skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: †Sauropterygia
Order: †Plesiosauria
Clade: †Xenopsaria
Family: †Elasmosauridae
Genus: †Futabasaurus
Sato, Hasegawa & Manabe, 2006
Species: † F. suzukii
Binomial name
Futabasaurus suzukii
Sato, Hasegawa & Manabe, 2006

Futabasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Fukushima, Japan. Described and named in 2006, it was assigned to the family Elasmosauridae.

Description

Cast of fossils of Futabasaurus suzukii exhibited at the National Museum of Nature and Science

The length was about 7 m, and the weight was about 3~4 tons.

Etymology

Futabasaurus suzukii was named from the family name of discoverer Suzuki, and futaba from the Futaba Group.[1]

The name "Futabasaurus" also appears in connection with a theropod dinosaur, also from the Late Cretaceous of Japan. However, this dinosaur was not officially named, so the dinosaur "Futabasaurus" is a nomen nudum when applied to this theropod. It is not the same as the plesiosaur named Futabasaurus.

Discovery

Fossils

Futabasaurus is the first elasmosaurid found in Japan. The type species is F. suzukii. Many of the bones of the type specimen show apparent scavenging or predation by sharks.[1]

The first fossils of Futabasaurus were found in the Irimazawa Member of the Tamayama Formation, Futaba Group, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, dating to the Inoceramus amakusensis zone of the early Santonian. The fossils were found by Tadashi Suzuki, a high school student around that time.[1]


See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sato, Tamaki; Hasegawa, Yoshikazu; Manabe, Makoto (2006). "A new elasmosaurid plesiosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Fukushima, Japan". Palaeontology 49 (3): 467–484. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00554.x.
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External links

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