Futabasaurus - Meaning: Futaba Lizard
Futabasaurus (FUTer-ba-sore-us) was a plesiosaur dinosaur from the Family Elasmosauridae. Futabasaurus lived in the seas during the late Cretaceous period in Fukushima, Japan. Futabasaurus is the first elasmosaurid found in Japan. These dinosaurs come under the class Reptilia. Many of the bones of the Futabasaurus show apparent scavenging or predation by sharks.
Futabasaurus Characteristics
Futabasaurus would have measured 7 metres in length and weighed around 4 tons. Futabasaurus was a bipedal carnivorous dinosaur. Their hind legs were stronger than their forelimbs so they could support their whole weight on 2 legs. Futabasaurus had a long neck and a stiff, pointed tail which helped to counter balnce when it walked on 2 legs. Their forelimbs were generally small and only used to hold prey when captured. Futabasaurus has powerful jaws and sharp teeth and would tear the flesh off its prey to chew it up. The eyes of the Futabasaurusare were located on either side of the head and there was a long distance between the nostrils and the eye sockets. Their thigh bones were slim and with significant muscle scarring.
Fossils were found in Japan where Futabasaurus lived during the Cretaceous period.
Futabasaurus was named by paleontologist Lambert in 1990.
FUTABASAURUS CLASSIFICATION: |
|
Kingdom: |
Animalia (animals) |
Phylum: |
Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain) |
Class: |
Reptilia |
Superorder: |
Sauropterygia |
Order: |
Plesiosauria |
Family: |
Elasmosauridae |
Genus: |
Futabasaurus |
Species: |
F. suzukii Sato et al., 2006 |
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