Humble Beginnings

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A newly discovered species of plant-eating dinosaurs from Japan is providing fresh insights into the migration patterns of ceratopsians – the family of beaked dinosaurs that includes the iconic Triceratops.

Paleontologists unearthed the fossilized remains of the Sasayamagnomus saegusai in southwestern Japan.

In their paper, they wrote that the extinct creature likely measured more than 31 inches long and weighed around 22 pounds, making it somewhat smaller than its more famous and massive relative.

The triceratops could grow up to 30 feet and weigh more than 11,000 pounds. It had a distinct large skull made up of a large bony frill and three horns that could grow up to three feet long.

Researchers suggested that S. saegusai belonged to an early neoceratopsian clade, which includes species from both North America and China. They added that this is the easternmost discovery of a ceratopsian dinosaur in Asia, adding to the understanding of how these dinosaurs spread across continents.

Fossil evidence suggests that ceratopsians, which originated in Asia, migrated to North America around 110 million years ago, likely via the Bering Land Bridge.

This ancient land connection, which spanned up to 620 miles in width, allowed dinosaurs like S. saegusai to travel between the two continents, Popular Science added.

During the mid-Cretaceous period, global warming created vast forests in the Arctic, which provided the necessary environment for ceratopsian migration.

“Simultaneous occurrence of global warming and the emergence of the Bering Land Bridge probably played a crucial role in facilitating the immigration of neoceratopsians from Asia to North America,” the study noted.

The discovery in Japan not only expands the understanding of ceratopsian dispersal, but also “suggests a more complex evolutionary timeline,” the authors wrote.

Correction: In Wednesday’s NEED TO KNOW section, we said in our “The Ghosts of Leaders Past” item that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was convicted of human rights violations in 1998. He was in fact convicted in 2009. We apologize for the error.