"Early" cretaceous Tyrannosaurids

["TERUO MIZUKAMI (HYPERSAURS)" <saurs@vcnet.toyama.toyama.jp>]

The Japanese news shows that fossil discovered last year at
the Tetori Group (Lower Cretaceous) of Fukui in Japan was judged to be
the premaxilla tooth of tyrannosaurids.
          According to M.Manabe (National Science Museum), as for the
tooth of tyrannosaurids, it is the first fossil discovered in Japan 
and is the oldest in the world. Fossil is about 1 cm in the length and
about 5 mm in width and it's horizontal section is D type. Different 
from other carnivorous dinosaurs, it's characteristic only of tyranno-
saurids.

          Last year, the fossil of tyrannosaurids was found at the 
stratum of Lower Cretaceous in Thailand. A hypothesis that
Tyrannosaurids
evolved in Asia and went into the North America was proposed.
Manabe said the fossil of this time may prove this Asia origin theory 
of tyrannosaurids. 


         From my web page you can link to the original web page. 

 
                                 Thanks

                                 TERUO MIZUKAMI (HYPERSAURS)
                                 saurs@vcnet.toyama.toyama.jp
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