Scientific name Futabasaurus | Species †F. suzukii Rank Genus | |
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Similar Plesiosauria, Elasmosauridae, Elasmosaurus, Libonectes, Muraenosaurus | ||
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Futabasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Fukushima, Japan. It was described and named in 2006, and was assigned to the family Elasmosauridae. The genus contains one species, F. suzukii.
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Description
The length of Futabasaurus has been estimated at 6.4–9.2 metres (21–30 ft), and it weighed about 3–4 tonnes (3.0–3.9 LT). It can be distinguished from other elasmosaurids by the following characteristics: there is a long distance between the eye sockets and nostrils; the interclavicles and clavicles are fused, and the anterior edge is bent; the humerus is relatively long; and the femurs are slim and show prominent muscle scars.
Discovery and naming
Futabasaurus is the first elasmosaurid found in Japan. The type specimen of Futabasaurus was found in the Irimazawa Member of the Tamayama Formation, in the Futaba Group of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The rocks in which it were found date to the Inoceramus amakusensis zone of the early Santonian. The fossils were found by Tadashi Suzuki, then a high school student. Many of the bones of the type specimen show signs of apparent scavenging or predation by sharks.
The genus Futabasaurus was named after the Futaba Group, in which it was discovered; the species name is derived from the family name of its discoverer, Suzuki. The name "Futabasaurus" has also been used for an unrelated theropod dinosaur, also from the Late Cretaceous of Japan. However, this dinosaur was not officially named, and remains a nomen nudum.