Shocking Discovery: Japan Reveals Mystery of Prehistoric 'Blue Dragon' That Dominated Oceans for 72 Million Years

An amazing fossil of an ancient marine "dragon" has been discovered in Japan. It belongs to a mosasaur, a large extinct reptile that used to live in the Pacific Ocean 72 million years ago. Its name is Wakayama Soryu, which means "blue dragon," and the discovery took place in Wakayama Prefecture in 2006. 

A team of researchers came across this fossil while searching for ammonites, but what they found was an almost complete fossilized mosasaur spine. This mosasaur was unique because of its large size and long rear fin, similar to a large shark. Scientists named it Megapterygius wakayamaensis because of its large wing-like fins. They believe this mosasaur was a great hunter with sharp eyesight. The mosasaur's existence ended due to a mass extinction event like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. The discovery was published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

Para peneliti menemukan kerangka mosasaurus yang hampir lengkap di Prefektur Wakayama, Jepang. Kerangka ini punya banyak bagian seperti tengkorak, tulang belakang leher dan punggung, tulang rusuk, serta sirip depan dan belakang. Mereka menemukan fosil ini di Formasi Toyajo, yang berusia sekitar 72 juta tahun. Tim peneliti menamai fosil ini sebagai genus dan spesies baru karena punya ciri-ciri unik, seperti bentuk tulang rahang yang ringan, bagian tulang di atas gigi, dan tulang belakang yang berubah bentuknya di bagian belakang. Mereka percaya bahwa dua sirip besar ini membantu mosasaurus bergerak cepat, mirip dengan paus bungkuk di laut hari ini.

Source : https://interestingengineering.com/science/japan-72-million-year-old-blue-dragon

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