LONDON: The biggest European dinosaur reared its head in Japan for the first time at the opening of the Mega-Dinosaur Exhibition 2015 at Makuhari Messe convention centre in Chiba.
In addition to that major attraction – a skeletal reconstruction of a Turiasaurus riodevensis – the exhibition features ancient fossils of dinosaur species measuring as long as 30 meters, along with the ever-popular Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) and Stegosaurus. The event is being hailed as a fun summer outing for the whole family.
The highlight of the show is the collection of sauropods – four-legged, herbivorous dinosaurs thought to be the largest-ever terrestrial animals in the 3.8 billion-year history of life on Earth. About 30 sauropod species are on display in the form of skeletal reconstructions and fossils.
The Turiasaurus fossils were discovered in Spain in 2003. They were embedded in a rock layer formed 140 million to 150 million years ago (late Jurassic to early Cretaceous period). The Chiba exhibition marks the first time the skeleton has been shown to the public outside Spain.
