Duckbilled Dinosaur That Went Extinct 66 Million Years Ago Discovered in Japan With Unique Hadrosaurs Traits

A duckbilled dinosaur species was recently discovered in Japan which rewrites what has been known about how the so-called hadrosaurs spread all over the world.

According to a Mail Online report, it was previously believed that hadrosaurs, known for their broad, flat snouts, wandered from North America to Asia before they went extinct 66 million years ago.

However, the fossilized remains of the Yamatosaurus izanagii, a never-before-seen species reveals the route was actually the opposite.

Specifically, a similar EurekAlert! hadrosaurus had rose of flat teeth that are close together and used to chew and grind up different forms of vegetation.

Then these teeth fell out or were worn down to a nub, they were replaced by new dentition, laying in reserve in the gums.

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Duckbilled Reptiles

The said ability means that duckbilled reptiles were able to survive across the world, and fossils have been identified in Asia which includes Japan, and in Europe, North America, and Africa.

Nevertheless, understanding how vegetarian dinosaurs appeared and spread throughout the world was proven to be quite difficult in the past.

Essentially, hadrosaurs, as described by ThoughtCo., existed during the Cretaceous period, the most modern dinosaur era when they went extinct because of a massive meteorite impact 66 million years back. The Yamatosaurus izanagii though, is believed to be approximately 72 million years old.

Analysis of this new species showed that it looked different compared to other hadrosaur species, with remarkable dissimilarities with their limbs and teeth.

For instance, instead of having numerous replacement teeth for every dental position in its mouth, this hadrosaur species had only a single backup for specific teeth. It was likely bipedal as well, slow-moving on a pair of legs, instead of four.

First-Ever Dinosaur Species Discovered in Japan

Based on the traits identified, it had been specified that the Japanese duckbilled dinosaur, which was discovered in 2004, is said to be an early hadrosaur representing a transitional point in these plant-eating giants' evolution.

According to the co-author of the study, Dr. Anthony Fiorillo from Southern Methodist University in the United States, he believes that dinosaurs in Asia possibly spread to the Americas through the Bering Land Bridge.

This report also specified that the dinosaur is the second new species of hadrosaur discovered in Japan, which was attached to mainland Asia, during the dinosaur era.

According to co-author of the study, Professor Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, from the Hokkaido University Museum, the species discovered were the first-ever dinosaurs discovered in Japan from the late Cretaceous period.

Until now, he added, they have no idea what dinosaurs existed and lived in Japan at the end of the dinosaur era.

The discovery of these dinosaurs in Japan, Professor Kobayashi explained, will help them to fill the piece of their bigger vision of how the animal species migrated between the said two continents.

The findings from the study, A New Basal Hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) From the Latest Cretaceous Kita-ama Formation in Japan: the Rise of Hadrosaurs are published in the Scientific Reports journal.

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