福井県立恐竜博物館紀要発刊に寄せて
福井県立恐竜博物館は，その名称に恥じない幅広い展示と，これまで閉ざされていた日本での神秘の扉に光を入れるべく，研究に深く裏付けられた実績・成果を挙げることを目指して，１年有余の年月をかけてここに紀要創刊号の発刊にいたりました．
予測をはるかにうわまわる発掘成果は，博物館準備室開設以前の石川県手取湖湖畔での１かけらの石コロから，驚くべきテンポで日本列島の中央部を占める長野，富山，石川，岐阜，福井各県での採集活動へという展開を見せることになったのです．一人の女子中学生が何気なく手にした黒光りのする石が，立派な肉食恐竜の歯であると高校進学のあとで判り，以来中生代白亜紀陸成層を中心に続々と日本全土規模での新発見が続いたのでした．
物事には「コロンブスの卵」的展開ということが稀れに起こるようです．1989年以来，福井県では２期10ヵ年にわたって長期計画発掘を実施し，わが国内13の道県産恐竜化石の過半数をはるかに上回る恐竜試料が，硬い岩層から着実にその姿を露わしてきたのです．
本紀要は，そのような急成長の恐竜発見を背景にしながら，分類学・比較解剖学をはじめ広く古生態・古環境・進化あるいはさらに博物館学といった大きなテーマをとり上げ，多分野の専門の人達に知っていただきたいと，活動を企画した次第です．アジア有数の博物館としての活動をめざしているのです．
初代編集長には，小西健二金沢大学名誉教授をお迎えし，とり敢えず国内スタッフを軸に発足しました．体裁もメンバー
構成も至って未熟であり，今後更なる改良・展開が必要であることは言うまでもありませんが，博物館の主催する国際ジャーナルとして皆様にとり急ぎお目通しをいただきたく，今後は刊行物として立派に成長できることを願うしだいです．
福井県立恐竜博物館館長

濱田隆

士

On the First Issue of the Memoir of our Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum
After over one year, here we could present the very first issue of the Memoir of the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum on the basis ofdeep and well-thought fruits to open the gate of philosophical contents of natural history museum trying to disclose their several
mysterious doors.
At the beginning of the dinosaur excavation we did not expect such a remarkable result as we have obtained at this moment before thepreparatory office of the Dinosaur Museum had set up in Fukui Prefecture. A certain young girl had once picked up a small, black andsomewhat shining fragment of a stone along the coast of an artificial Tetori Lake in Ishikawa Prefecture that is located adjacent to Fukui
Prefecture. After this spontaneous opportunity, several years has past until she grown up to a High School girl to recognize that the“Tetori material” as an undoubted piece of a carnivorous dinosaurian tooth in the central part of the Honshu arc. Various fossiliferous
Mesozoic rocks of the terrestrial origin have been revealed scatteredly in this terrain, i.e. Nagano, Toyama, Ishikawa, Gifu and FukuiPrefectures.
It is really astonishing that “the Columbus’ Egg” is undoubtedly happened everywhere in this area. Under such circurmtances since
1989, in Fukui Prefecture the big and continuing excavation project for more than ten years during 2 terms has established to obtain anabundant fragmentary bones, eggs and various footprints of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs as well. The total number of thedinosaur materials from those prefectures far exceeds these results from 13 districts in Japan other than Fukui.
It is happy to recognize such widely distributed dinosaurian localities in this island arc to publish various results covering different
fields in taxonomy, comparative anatomy, paleobiology, paleoenvironment, evolution and museum studies as well in the memoir. Manyspecialists are welcomed to join us not only from our own country but from abroad.
On behalf of the Dinosaur Museum, I sincerely appreciate the Editor-in-chief, Prof. Emeritus of the Kanazawa University (IshikawaPrefecture), Dr. Kenji KONISHI. At this moment, the Editorial Board is erected in the domestic organization to organize our museum
activity. However, it is obvious to extend the foreign staff in asking the editorial task next opportunity. It is our great honor to expect thefurther progress of this newly established journal to satisfy the contents and context in future.
The Director, the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum

Takashi HAMADAi