Wakinosaurus

Wakino lizard

• Wakino · Japanese · Wakino (a place in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan)
• sauros · Greek · lizard

Wakinosaurus is named after the Wakino Group, the geological formation in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, where the fossil tooth was discovered. The suffix "-saurus" comes from the Greek word "sauros," meaning lizard, a standard element in dinosaur genus names. The name therefore means "Wakino lizard," honoring the local geological and geographic context of the find. It is one of the very few dinosaur genera known from Japan.

Named by

Okazaki

Year named

1992

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Hauterivian

Found in

Wakino Group, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Wakinosaurus is known only from a single large theropod tooth, making it a nomen dubium — the fragmentary material is insufficient to confidently diagnose a valid genus. It is considered a large theropod dinosaur, possibly a tetanuran, but its exact classification remains uncertain. It is notable as one of the earliest formally named dinosaurs from Japan.