来自冈山理科大学、东京城市大学和岸和田市自然史博物馆的研究团队在一块尘封30年的化石中发现了四块此前未被识别的白垩纪沧龙骨骼[1]。这批化石最初于1990年至1992年间在日本大阪府贝塚市Sobura地区收集，直到2026年8月15日才被仔细识别出这些骨骼的真实身份[1]。
这次发现尤为重要的是，研究人员首次在日本沧龙化石中确认了颌前骨——上颌骨最前端的骨骼[1]。这些骨骼表现出的解剖特征异于已知的任何沧龙物种，暗示该标本可能代表一个全新的物种[1]。沧龙生活在白垩纪晚期，距今约9800万至6600万年前[1]。研究成果已在2026年6月27日于大阪市立大学举行的日本古生物学会第177届年会上发表[1]。
Researchers have identified four previously unrecognized Cretaceous mosasaur bones hidden within a fossil collected between 1990 and 1992 in Sobura, Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.[1] The discovery, made in August 2026, includes the first confirmed premaxilla—the frontmost bone of the upper jaw—ever found in a Japanese mosasaur fossil.[1] The unusual anatomical features of these bones suggest the specimen may belong to an entirely new species.[1]
Scientists from Okayama University of Science, Tokyo City University, and the Kishiwada Museum of Natural History collaborated on the identification and analysis of the newly recognized skeletal elements.[1] The mosasaur lived during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 98 to 66 million years ago.[1] Findings from this research were presented on June 27, 2026, at the 177th Annual Meeting of the Palaeontological Society of Japan in Osaka.[1]