A new species of prehistoric dinosaur was discovered by Japanese paleontologists. It belongs to the group of titanosaurs and lived in the region of where Japan is today 100 million years ago, announced the world news agencies.
The dinosaur's bones were found back in 2006 in the region of Tamba city, during research by a local teacher and his students.
A team of scientists immediately arrived at the scene, to investigate the fossils in the region. The skeleton of the prehistoric animal was then put together and examined by numerous universities.
Because of the atypical shape of the bones, the experts came to the conclusion that they were dealing with an ancient lizard belonging to a species still unknown to paleontologists and so they called it Tambatitanis amicitiae.
The titanosaur herbivores were among the most impressive land animals to ever walk the Earth. They reached 131 ft (40 m) in length and weighed as much as 80 tons. However, the dinosaur found in Japan was of a relatively more humble size and only 49 ft (15 m) long.
To commemorate the find of the new species of prehistoric reptile, a special exhibition will be held in the Japanese city of Tamba, which will be available to visitors until the end of October.
Tambatitanis amicitiae is not the only species newly found by Japanese archaeologists. In 2009, 11 fossilized fragments found in the Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan were also confirmed to be the remains of a dinosaur species unknown up until that point.
Scientists from the University of Tokyo presented a report on a dinosaur, more than 3 ft (1 m) tall, to the International Academic Conference, where the fossils were announced to be the remains of a new biological species.
During their digging, the archaeologists found teeth, the head and part of the spine and limbs of an herbivorous dinosaur that walked upright on its hind legs.
Based on the scientists' data, the reptile inhabited our planet during the Cretaceous period nearly 70 million years ago. Those fossils were found in 1998 near the city of Hakusan, which is dotted with remains from the Mesozoic era.
