In Depth
Fukuititan is the first ever sauropod dinosaur known to have lived in what is now Japan. The holotype individual of Fukuititan seems to have been fairly small in terms of overall sauropod sizes, and may be a reflection of living upon a smaller land mass. Based upon similarity between the caudal (tail) vertebrae, Fukuititan has been considered as possibly being related to Borealosaurus from China, which in turn has been considered as a potential relative of Opisthocoelicaudia.
Fukuititan translates as ‘Fukui titan’ a combination of being named after Fukui prefecture and the Ancient Greek titan which is commonly used for naming sauropod dinosaurs of the titanosaurid lineage. The species name nipponensis more simply means ‘from Japan’. Fukuititan likely shared the same habitat as other dinosaurs such as the hadrosaur Fukuisaurus and the megaraptoran theropod Fukuiraptor, while remains of Psittacosaurus also seem to be within the formation. Aside from these more derived fossils, indeterminate fossils of dromaeosaurs, other sauropods and ornithopod dinosaurs are also known, as well as dinosaur eggs and track ways of various kinds of dinosaurs.
Further Reading
- Fukuititan nipponensis, a new titanosauriform sauropod from the Early Cretaceous Tetori Group of Fukui Prefecture, Japan. - Acta Geologica Sinica 84(3):454-462. - Yoichi Azuma & Masateru Shibata - 2010.
