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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →A pterosaur fossil found in Japan is a partial neck vertebra, not a wing or a complete skeleton. Researchers named it Nipponopterus mifunensis and estimated that the animal’s wingspan may have reached about 3 to 3.5 meters. That span is an estimate based on the animal, not a measurement taken from the fossil.
What pterosaur fossil was found in Japan?
The fossil is a partial sixth cervical vertebra—the sixth bone in the neck—of an azhdarchid pterosaur. It was found in the Upper Formation of the Mifune Group in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the Japanese island of Kyushu. The specimen does not include wings or a complete skeleton.
Researchers named the animal Nipponopterus mifunensis. The Mifune Dinosaur Museum explains the name as “Japan’s wing from Mifune,” with mifunensis referring to the place. Research institutions describe it as the first pterosaur formally named from a body fossil found in Japan; that is narrower than saying it was the country’s first pterosaur fossil, since fragmentary remains were known earlier. (Kumamoto University; Mifune Dinosaur Museum)
Was it really 3.5 meters across?
Possibly, but 3.5 meters is the upper end of an estimated wingspan of about 3 to 3.5 meters, reported by the Mifune Dinosaur Museum in May 2025 and echoed by Kumamoto University. It is not a direct measurement: the specimen is a neck vertebra, and no wings are preserved. (Mifune Dinosaur Museum; Kumamoto University)
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How old is the fossil?
The study identifies the fossil-bearing Upper Formation as Turonian–Coniacian in age. Hokkaido University Museum describes the Mifune Group deposits as around 90 million years old, an accessible approximation rather than a more precise date for this individual bone. (The study in Cretaceous Research; Hokkaido University Museum)
How did researchers identify it?
The vertebra had been known from earlier work, but the researchers reassessed its anatomy and evolutionary relationships. The Mifune Dinosaur Museum highlights a combination of features: a dorsal keel on the postexapophyses, a groove along the underside, a triangular rear articular surface, and postexapophyses that project to the sides. The diagnosis relies on the combination, rather than any one feature alone. The team also used CT-derived data to examine its position among pterosaurs. (Mifune Dinosaur Museum; Kumamoto University)
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The museum says the study’s comparison matrix included 204 pterosaur species and 533 anatomical characters. Those figures describe the analysis used in this study, not a count of all pterosaur species or traits known to science. The paper by Xuanyu Zhou and coauthors appeared in Cretaceous Research, volume 167 (DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2024.106046). (Mifune Dinosaur Museum; article record and abstract)
Why does Nipponopterus matter?
Researchers place Nipponopterus in Quetzalcoatlinae, a lineage of azhdarchids, and report it as closely related to an unnamed Mongolian azhdarchid. They regard it as among the earliest known members of that lineage. Quetzalcoatlus is a much later, giant member of the broader lineage; its scale should not be attributed to Nipponopterus, whose estimated wingspan is about 3 to 3.5 meters. (study abstract; Kumamoto University)
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Pterosaurs were flying reptiles, not dinosaurs. The significance of the find is that a single, diagnostically useful neck bone added a formally named Japanese species to the fossil record and helped researchers trace the early history of this pterosaur lineage.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you see the fossil?
The Mifune Dinosaur Museum reports that the fossil is on public display. Its current hours, admission, and visitor arrangements are not established here, so check the museum’s own visitor information before making plans. (Mifune Dinosaur Museum)
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