Mifune Dinosaur Museum

[David in Japan]

Mifune Dinosaur Museum is a small museum by its size but not by its collection. This natural museum is focused on the cretaceous period and fossils excavated in Mifune area.

Situated in the Kumamoto prefecture in the southern japanese big island called Kyushu, Mifune benefits of a formation called Mifune formation rich in brackish water fossils (invertebrates) in its lower part and in dinosaurs and other vertebrates in the upper part of the formation.

 

Mifune has a good reputation among japanese paleontologists since the first carnivorous teeth was found in 1979. Since then, various species of dinosaurs have been found here (Tyranosaurid, Ankylosaurid, Hadrosaurid, Dromaesaurid, Therizinosaurid, ornitomimosaurid). Beside dinosaurs, mammals (Sorlestes mifunensis), large variety of turtles (slightly different from the turtles found at the same period in Asia) and crocodiles (Eusuchia only) were found.

 

In addition to the museum visit, outside activities such as fossil hunting, geological tour are available.

 

First meat eating dinosaur tooth found in Japan

 

 

 

Entrance of the exhibition room/ Montana case

 

 

 

View on the main gallery

 

 

Reconstruction of Mifune's paleoecology

 

 

   Mifune's crocodiles                                                                                                      Neosuchia sp bones

 

 

[David in Japan]

Mifune's turtle bones

 

Dinosaur's bones found in Mifune

 

Therizinosaurid braincase found in Mifune

 

Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis

 

Triceratops growth stage (and Pr. Horner on screen. MDM and Museum Of the Rockies are partners just like Kumamoto prefecture and Montana are twin state)

 

Museum open lab