Cute Baby Dinosaur Discovery in South Korea Named After Beloved Cartoon Character

Scientists have discovered and named a new species of baby dinosaur in South Korea, calling it Doolysaurus after the country's beloved cartoon dinosaur character known for his distinctive green coloring and two small tufts of hair. The discovery, published in Fossil Record, marks the first new dinosaur species identified in South Korea in 15 years and represents the first fossil from the country to include parts of a dinosaur skull.

The young dinosaur, officially named Doolysaurus huhmini, was discovered on Aphae Island in 2023 by co-author Hyemin Jo. Led by visiting postdoctoral researcher Jongyun Jung at UT's Jackson School of Geosciences, the research team initially observed only a few leg bones and vertebrae. However, revolutionary micro-CT scanning conducted at the University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography facility revealed a treasure trove of hidden bones inside the rock, including crucial skull fragments that dramatically expanded the scientific value of the find.

"When we first found the specimen, we saw some leg bones preserved and some vertebrae," Jung explained. "We didn't expect skull parts and so many more bones. There was a fair amount of excitement when we saw what was hidden inside the block." The CT scanning technology allowed researchers to visualize the complete skeleton in just a few months, a process that could have taken years using traditional manual extraction methods from the hard rock encasing the fossil.

The baby dinosaur was approximately two years old when it died and measured roughly the size of a turkey, though adult members of the species may have reached twice that size. Scientists believe Doolysaurus may have been covered in soft, fuzzy filaments, leading co-author Julia Clarke to describe it as potentially looking "a bit like a little lamb." The creature lived during the mid-Cretaceous period, between 113 and 94 million years ago, and has been classified as a thescelosaurid, a group of two-legged dinosaurs.

Perhaps most intriguingly, the young dinosaur had stomach stones called gastroliths, which reveal important information about its diet and behavior. These stones suggest that Doolysaurus ate a mixed diet of plants and small animals, providing valuable insights into the ecological relationships of mid-Cretaceous Korea. The second part of the species name honors Korean paleontologist Min Huh for his decades of contributions to dinosaur research and his role in founding the Korean Dinosaur Research Center, highlighting the international collaboration that made this discovery possible.