A previously unrecorded creature has emerged in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, resembling a bizarre hybrid of an ostrich and a theropod dinosaur.
According to researchers from Fukui Prefectural University and the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, this strange creature is actually a theropod dinosaur.
This group of dinosaurs thrived during the Late Cretaceous period, including the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex, characterized by strong, agile hind limbs and relatively slender forelimbs.
Fossils of part of its body were unearthed at the Kitanai Dinosaur Quarry, located within the Kitadani Formation in central Fukui, Japan.
Portrait of the “ostrich-dinosaur hybrid” recently excavated in Japan.
The new species has been named Tyrannomimus fukuiensis, a member of the Ornithomimosauria clade within the theropod dinosaurs. Ornithomimosauria thrived in the early stages of the Late Cretaceous and existed until the dinosaur extinction event at the end of this period.
This species flourished during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous, approximately 121 to 113 million years ago.
Their ostrich-like body shape is accompanied by a speed similar to that of modern ostriches. They were herbivorous, lacking teeth but possessing a hard beak.
It is not unusual for dinosaurs to resemble certain bird species, as birds evolved from this remarkable group of reptiles. Therefore, birds are still regarded as the last surviving descendants of dinosaurs on Earth.
Previously, relatives of Tyrannomimus fukuiensis have been found across Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, and were even suspected to exist in Australia.
According to a publication in the scientific journal Scientific Reports, this new discovery further confirms its “ghostly lineage.” Although it only appeared in the Late Cretaceous, it likely had a common ancestor that began to spread its range across the supercontinent Pangaea before it broke apart in the Jurassic period.
