Photo/Illutration An image of the reconstructed “Wakayama Soryu” (the Wakayama blue dragon) (Provided by the Wakayama Prefectural Museum of Natural History)

KAINAN, Wakayama Prefecture--A mosasaur fossil found in the mountains in the prefecture almost two decades ago has been determined to be a new genus and species that lived more than 70 million years ago in the sea, a research team announced on Dec. 13.

Its scientific name Megapterygius Wakayamaensis means large wing from Wakayama Prefecture, referring to the fossil’s distinctive flippers that are larger than its head and its discovery in the prefecture.

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that this discovery has made Wakayama Prefecture a kingdom of fossils,” said Masaaki Ohara, 50, who is working at the Wakayama Prefectural Museum of Natural History and was involved in the fossil excavation and cleaning.

“We would like to organize an exhibition in the next fiscal year or later,” he added.

The research team, including the Wakayama Prefectural Museum of Natural History, announced the Japanese name of the new species as “Wakayama Soryu” (the Wakayama blue dragon) at a news conference.

The findings were published in the British paleontological journal, the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

Mosasaurs are marine reptiles akin to lizards and snakes rather than dinosaurs.

They are believed to have appeared about 98 million years ago and to have swum by moving their tail fins from side to side.

The new species appears to have lived roughly 72 million years ago.

SERENDIPITOUS DISCOVERY

The fossil was discovered in Mount Toyajosan in Aridagawa, Wakayama Prefecture, in 2006 by Akihiro Misaki, who hails from Arida in the prefecture.

Misaki was a graduate student at Kyoto University at the time. He said he stumbled upon the fossil while searching for ammonite fossils for his doctoral thesis.

“I have been researching fossils in the mountains since I was in sixth grade in elementary school,” he said. “I never thought I would find such an incredible fossil.”

Misaki, now 44, works as a curator at the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History in Fukuoka Prefecture.

The front and rear flippers are larger than the skull, suggesting that the new species swam using its leg fins, similar to a sea turtle or humpback whale.

The shape of the spine also indicates that the species may have had a dolphin-like dorsal fin, a first for mosasaurs.

Since 2010, the Wakayama Prefectural Museum of Natural History and other entities have been excavating fossils pertaining to the mosasaur. They found about 65 percent of the whole-body skeleton, from head to tail.

“Since about 65 percent of the full-body skeleton has been found, we were able to hypothesize a different swimming method than previous theories,” said Takuya Konishi, 45, an associate professor of education at the University of Cincinnati, who led the research team.

“This discovery may attract researchers from all over the world to Wakayama Prefecture,” he added.

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