Re: Greeting from Japan

[John Schneiderman <dino@revelation.unomaha.edu>]

On Sat, 6 Jan 1996, Derek Smith wrote:

> Hi, all.
> I was wondering if somebody (somebodies?) could clear up a point for me:
> 
> >Japanese newspaper reported nodosaurid dinosaur and 
> >plesiosaur fossil found from Hokkaido, the north island of the four 
> >major islands in Japan.  
> 
> The Japanese islands are mostly volcanic, aren't they?  I was under the
> impression that
> one doesn't find too many fossils in volcanic rocks - pretty much only in
> sedimentary
> rocks.  So, are these fossils unusual in this respect?  Or do I just plain
> have the wrong impression?


Japan has a lot of isolated sedimentary rocks...I believe volcanic rock 
is highly erodible.  The dinosaur finds are all very fragmentary and 
usually found in sedimentary rock formed in or near offshore basins.  
Take a look at a geological map of Japan, and you will find a lot of 
green (the color for Mesozoic rock on the map).

---John Schneiderman (dino@revelation.unomaha.edu)