Dr Masa is originally from Niigata, Japan. He obtained a BSc degree with Honours from Deakin University then a PhD from the University of New England, Australia. He has studied geology and palaeontology of Malaysia for nearly 15 years. He has previously worked in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Curtin University (Sarawak Campus). Since 2010 he has been Associate Professor in University of Malaya, where he teaches Geology of Malaysia, Geology of SE Asia, Earth History, and Palaeontology. His current research interests deal with Mesozoic environments of SE Asia, where dinosaurs and associated fauna/flora must have flourished.
Discovery of the first Malaysian dinosaur fossils in Pahang: Prospects for further findings and development of palaeontology in the country
Masatoshi Sone
Department of Geology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
As released at a press conference held in the University of Malaya on 18 Feb. 2014, our international team of geologists/palaeontologists has discovered several teeth of carnivorous dinosaur(s) from Pahang. This is the first confirmation of dinosaur remains, and believed to be the first of any Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates, from Malaysia.
Despite decades of searching, a dinosaur fossil was not found in Malaysia so long. On the other hand, many remains have been confirmed in the nearby countries Thailand and Laos for last 40 years, and therefore a similar dinosaur find in Malaysia was promising and has been waited.
Jurassic–Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, where dinosaur finds are prospective, are widely distributed in the interior of Peninsular Malaysia. UM’s palaeontologists, Dr. Masa and Ms. Teng Yu He, have noticed close similarities of the Malaysia rocks with the dinosaur-bearing rocks in Thailand. They sought collaborators from local and overseas to search dinosaur fossils in Malaysia, and their explorations have started since 2012. As reported lately, they have successfully confirmed the presence of dinosaur fossil teeth in Pahang. The present find is a landmark in natural science of the country; it is described in the local media “Small find, Big discovery”.
The dinosaur teeth are identified to belong to spinosaurid theropod(s), which is often known as a largely piscivorous (fish-based diet) and semi-aquatic predatory dinosaur. The Egyptian genus Spinosaurus has become world-famous with its fierce appearance in the movie ‘Jurassic Park III’, and most recently with the new reconstruction “Mr. Big” presented in National Geographic October 2014 issue.
The age of the Malaysian dinosaur deposit is interpreted to be Early Cretaceous in age. The present find extends known distribution of Asian dinosaurs, as the details were recently presented in the international symposium in Tokyo early September. Our research is on-going and a scientific report is currently in preparation.
The location of the dinosaur fossil site has been kept confidential, and it will not be disclosed until the local authorities take necessary measures for protection of the area. Besides, more dinosaur and related fossils are expected to remain unearthed within the ancient sediments of Malaysia.
