Tyrannosaurid jawbone fossil found for 1st time in Japan
A lower jawbone fossil from a tyrannosaurid dinosaur was found in a roughly 74-million-year-old layer of earth from the Late Cretaceous period in southwestern Japan, the first time a jawbone fragment belonging to the family has been discovered in the country, local museums said Thursday, Kyodo reports.
The finding in Reihoku, Kumamoto Prefecture, is expected to advance studies regarding the classification of large theropods during the Late Cretaceous period and the range of its habitat within Asia, according to the Goshoura Cretaceous Museum and the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.
The fossil was initially discovered in 2014. Of the lower jawbone, the left dentary bone, which supported its teeth, measures around 14 centimeters in length and about 8 cm in height, while the connecting right side is approximately 17 cm in length and around 8 cm in height.
