SHOWA BASE, Antarctica (Kyodo) The Japanese polar expedition team discovered four meteorites in the Sor Rondane Mountains of Antarctica on Tuesday in a race with U.S. scientists over the number of similar finds on the continent.
It is the first discovery of meteorites in the area by Japanese scientists since January 2001.
Japan, now having discovered about 16,200 meteorites in Antarctica, had long held the world record for such finds on the continent.
The U.S. research team, however, pulled out out in front by more than 1,000 after expeditions in 2007 and 2008.
The four found Tuesday were discovered by Daisuke Sasaki, one of the members of the Japan Antarctic Research Expedition.
The stones are all about the size of the tip of a pinkie, the team said.
