The 120-million-year-old fossilized skin traces, which show round and polygonal scales measuring between 3 and 5 mm in diameter, was found in the Kitatanicho district of Katsuyama.
Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum Deputy Director Yoichi Azuma hailed the discovery. "We've had to rely on overseas
data for reproducing dinosaur skin, but now domestic data is available. There is a possibility that clearer fossils of dinosaur skin traces will be found in the same area," said Azuma.Experts believe the skin comes from the leg of a herbivorous dinosaur, judging by the shape, but say it's difficult to identify its species without any fossilized skeletal remains.
