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| Doolysaurus huhmini Jung, Kim, Jo & Clarke, 2026 |
Abstract
The Korean dinosaur fossil record is exceptionally rich in trackways and eggs, yet skeletal remains are exceedingly rare. Two species have been described based on postcranial elements, and a taxon known from cranial materials has not yet been reported. Here, we report a new early-diverging neornithischian species, known from a small, partially articulated skeleton comprising cranial and postcranial elements as well as gastroliths. The specimen is from the mid-Cretaceous Ilseongsan Formation of Aphae Island (Aphaedo). X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) revealed the anatomy of the new species, including the first studied cranial remains of a dinosaur from Korea. The size and anatomical features of the specimen, along with histological analysis, indicate that it is not a fully grown individual, probably 0–2 years old. Gastroliths are present, with morphologies and a relative mass proposed to be consistent with a more omnivorous diet. Phylogenetic analyses recover the new species, Doolysaurus huhmini gen. et sp. nov., as a thescelosaurid. The recovery of Doolysaurus with most other Asian thescelosaurids near the base of this clade provides further evidence for its origin and early biogeography. The new discovery suggests that other small dinosaur fossils may be found at Aphaedo or at sites with similar taphonomic conditions in Korea; Doolysaurus is consistent with richer dinosaurian diversity in the Cretaceous of Korea than is represented in its rich trace fossil record.
Key Words: Aphaedo, Doolysaurus huhmini, mid-Cretaceous, Neornithischia, Thescelosauridae, Shinan
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| Skeletal anatomy of Doolysaurus huhmini gen. et sp. nov. All scale bars are 10 mm. Artwork by Janet Cañamar. Abbreviations: 4th tr: fourth trochanter; be: buccal emargination; boc: basioccipital condyle; bpro: boss for articulation with proatlas; bt: basal tubera; cc: cnemial condyle; cfo: carotid aorta foramen; cpc: coronoid process; dh: dorsal head; dtt: dentary tooth; ec: endocranial cavity; eoas: exoccipital articular surface; fm: foramen magnum; lc: lateral condyle; lw: lateral wing; mc: medial condyle; mkc: Meckelian canal; mt: metatarsal; mw: medial wing; mxt: maxillary tooth; ns: neural spine; oc: occipital condyle; pd: pedal digit; plp: posterolateral process; pop: paroccipital process; poz: postzygapophysis; prz: prezygapophyses; pscf: posterior semicircular canal foramen; ptf: posttemporal foramen. |
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| An artist’s interpretation of a juvenile Doolysaurus huhmini gen. et sp. nov. It is depicted alongside birds and other dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous in what is now South Korea. Artwork by Jun Seong Yi. |
Doolysaurus huhmini gen. et sp.
Diagnosis. Doolysaurus huhmini is a small-bodied, early-diverging neornithischian dinosaur with the following unique combination of features recovered from analysis of the Fonseca et al. (2024) dataset, including one optimized autapomorphy (*): (1) the lateral condyle of the quadrate is larger than the medial condyle (shared with Orodromeus and Haya) (ch.196:2); (2) Exoccipital, relative positions of the exits of the hypoglossal nerve (XII) combined into a single exit (shared with Jeholosaurus) (ch. 254:2); (3) Basioccipital, contribution to the border of the foramen magnum more than 1/3 its basioccipital condyle size (shared with Fona) (ch. 261: 0); (4) the apex of the maxillary teeth is located posterior to the center (shared with ...
Etymology. The generic name Doolysaurus honors “Dooly the Little Dinosaur,” an iconic Korean cartoon baby dinosaur character created by Soo-Jung Kim in 1983; saurus is from the Greek σαῦρος (sauros), meaning “lizard.” The specific name, huhmini, honors Professor Dr. Min Huh, a paleontologist who conducted research on a theropod fossil nest from the Aphaedo site, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the study of dinosaurs in Korea over the past 30 years.
Jongyun Jung, Minguk Kim, Hyemin Jo and Julia A. Clarke. 2026. A New Dinosaur Species from Korea and its implications for early-diverging neornithischian diversity. Fossil Record 29(1): 87-113. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/fr.29.178152
https://blog.pensoft.net/2026/03/19/fossil-x-ray-reveals-new-species-of-baby-dino-named-after-iconic-korean-cartoon
