A rare dinosaur fossil found in South Korea has been identified as a new species, the country’s first new dinosaur species in 15 years. The skeleton was found on the Aphae Islands off the country’s southwestern coast and dates to around 113 million years ago. Researchers named it Doolysaurus huhmin after Dooly, a South Korean cartoon character.The remains include parts of the skull, the first dinosaur skull material found in the country. According to the Natural History Museum, the animal was likely still a juvenile when it died and measured a couple of feet in length. The discovery is significant because dinosaur bones are rare in South Korea, despite the region’s record of footprints and eggshells.
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Dooly-named baby dinosaur fossil reveals South Korea’s first skull remains
Researchers found the fossil during an excavation at a site on the Aphae Islands, off South Korea’s southwestern coast. It was preserved inside solid rock. Researchers noticed gastroliths, or stomach stones, beside leg bones emerging from the rock and suspected that more of the animal might be preserved.They used a micro-CT scanner to examine the specimen. The scan revealed parts of the ribs and arm bones, as well as elements of the head. These skull pieces are the first dinosaur skull remains found in South Korea. The discovery matters because dinosaur body fossils are much rarer in the country than footprints and eggshells. The find provides rare physical evidence of a dinosaur that lived in the region.
Baby dinosaur fossil reveals its age, size and possible feather covering
The fossil dates to around 113 million years ago. Researchers estimate that the dinosaur was about two years old when it died. Growth markers in its bones indicate that it was still growing, and the team estimates that an adult may have been about twice its size. The youngster measured just a couple of feet in length.Researchers suspect it may have had a fuzzy covering of feathers. The gastroliths found beside its bones suggest that it was omnivorous and ate a varied diet. The animal was a thescelosaurid, a type of small two-legged dinosaur. These were early relatives of larger plant-eaters such as Iguanodon.
New dinosaur species named after South Korean cartoon character Dooly
The researchers chose the name Doolysaurus huhmin because the young dinosaur resembles Dooly, a familiar character from South Korean children’s television. Created by Kim Soo-jung, Dooly the Little Dinosaur is a baby dinosaur with tufts sprouting from its head. Jongyun Jung, who led the research describing the new species, said, “Dooly is one of the very famous, iconic dinosaur characters in Korea.”“Every generation in Korea knows this character. And our specimen is also a juvenile or ‘baby’, so it’s perfect for our dinosaur species name to honour Dooly.”The species was described by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and the Korean Dinosaur Research Center.
Why dinosaur bones are rare despite South Korea’s rich footprint record
Doolysaurus huhmin is only the third named dinosaur species discovered in South Korea. The country has a rich record of dinosaur footprints, studied extensively, but fossilised bones are much harder to find. The region where the footprints formed was probably a tidal mudflat. Tracks left by dinosaurs crossing the soft ground were readily preserved, while skeletal remains were less likely to survive.Researchers have found evidence of many kinds of dinosaurs in the area, including small and large plant-eaters and meat-eating species. The new skeleton adds to the limited record of dinosaur body fossils from Korea.