tooth

Dinosaur teeth evolved to make it easier to eat food. Because teeth are hard and more likely to fossilize, they serve as clues for determining whether a dinosaur was carnivorous or herbivorous. In carnivorous dinosaurs, the teeth were like sharp knives suited for biting into animals. In addition, the edges of the teeth appear to have had serrations to make cutting meat easier. Herbivorous dinosaurs seem to have had long teeth to prevent excessive wear when grinding leaves. Some also had teeth suited for ripping leaves from branches or plucking them.

belly button

The correct “navel” is the mark where the mother and the fetus were connected by the umbilical cord, right? Through the umbilical cord from the mother’s placenta, the fetus is able to take in nutrients. Dinosaurs, which hatch from eggs, do not have navels. By the way, it seems that other animals’ navels are not as noticeable as humans’.

45 meters

Argentinosaurus was the largest creature on Earth. It is said to have been around 40 meters in total length. Although a complete skeleton has not been found, the bones that have been discovered are enormous in size. By comparing it with closely related dinosaurs, researchers concluded that it was roughly 40 meters long and weighed about 90 tons.

Fukui Prefecture

In Fukui Prefecture, many dinosaur fossils have been discovered, including the Fukui-saurus, whose entire skeleton has been reconstructed and is native to Japan. During the age of the dinosaurs, Japan was located at the eastern edge of the Asian continent. Because the land was connected, the carcasses of dinosaurs that lived near watersides in places like China seem to have been deposited in rivers in what is now Japan. Another reason is that Fukui Prefecture contains many geological layers where dinosaur fossils are likely to be found.

70 to 100 kilometers

Because Gallimimus looks similar to an ostrich, it is also nicknamed the “ostrich dinosaur.” However, it can run faster than an ostrich. Its speed is said to come from the flexibility of its instep. It can run at 70 to 100 kilometers per hour—fast enough for a highway.

Iwate Prefecture

Japan’s first dinosaur fossil was discovered in 1978 near the Moshi Coast in Iwaizumi, Iwate Prefecture. It was reportedly named “Mosiryu,” combining the find location “Moshi” with the word for “dragon.” Although it was a large dinosaur around 20 meters in length, it was a herbivore that ate tree leaves and other plants, extending its long neck—measuring over ten meters—to feed.

America

The “Godzillasaurus” discovered in the United States was named by a researcher who loves “Godzilla.” As a child, after watching a Godzilla movie with his Japanese mother, he became a Godzilla fan. That led him into paleontology, and he named a newly discovered dinosaur “Godzilla.”

child-rearing

Maiasaura is the dinosaur that prompted the idea that some dinosaurs cared for their young. Fossils from nests have yielded slightly grown juvenile Maiasaura and eggshells shattered from hatching. From this, it is inferred that hatchlings lived in the nest until they reached a certain size—in other words, the parents provided care. By the way, in Latin, “maia” means a good mother, and “saura” is a term used for a female lizard.

Oviraptor

“Raptor” apparently means “thief” in Latin. Oviraptor, which carries the meaning “egg thief,” was given its unique name due to a misunderstanding. Fossils of an Oviraptor were discovered inside a nest containing Triceratops eggs. It was assumed that it had been stealing and eating the Triceratops eggs, and so it was named “Oviraptor.” However, the embryos in the eggs were actually Oviraptors, and it seems the fossils formed in its own nest. It’s a bit sad that it was labeled a “thief” because of a misunderstanding.