A investigation made by various Japanese institutions identified a fossil found in the prefecture of Kumamoto (southwest of Japan) almost three decades ago as a genre and kind of pterosaur -Reptile prehistoric flying- unknown so far, confirmed the Mifune to Efe Dinosaurs Museum.
Being the first member of a new kind of species, it is expected that it offers clues of great importance to study the evolutionary process of pterosaurs. Therefore, it is the first to be formally named as a different species from the fossil (Nipponopterus mifunensis).
The fossil – a cervical vertebra of 6.5 centimeters long, 2.5 wide and 0.7 high – was discovered in 1996 in a deposit of 90 million years old, in a layer of rock dating from the last period of the Cretaceous (between 66 and 100.5 million years).
At first it was thought that the fossil belonged to a member of the Ashdarchidae Pterosaurs family.
However, The subsequent research carried out by institutions such as the Mifune Dinosaurs Museum, the University of Kumamoto and the University of Hokkaido It allowed paleontologists to compare specimens and confirm that it was not like existing fossils.
“Unknown characteristics have been known (…). It is different from those in China and other continents”explained the chief of conservation of the museum, who highlighted the fragility and vulnerability of these archaeological remains.
The researchers discovered that it is the sixth of nine cervical vertebrae and identified four unique characteristics that allowed them to conclude that it was a new genus and species.
The findings were published in March in a British scientific journal.