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3h ago

Micro-CT Unveils New Juvenile Dinosaur Species in Korea, Doolysaurus Huhmini

The scan revealed a near-complete turkey-sized skeleton with skull elements, pointing researchers to new ways to find rare bones in Korea.

An artist’s interpretation of a juvenile Doolysaurus huhmini. It is depicted alongside birds and non-avian dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous in what is now South Korea.
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Overview

  • The peer-reviewed description was published March 19 in the journal Fossil Record by Jung, Clarke and colleagues.
  • The find is reported as South Korea's first new dinosaur species in 15 years and the first local dinosaur fossil with preserved skull material.
  • Micro-CT scanning at UT Austin's High-Resolution X-ray CT facility exposed a nearly complete skeleton hidden in hard rock and sharply reduced preparation time.
  • The Aphae Island individual was about two years old and turkey-sized, confirmed by femur growth markers, with gastroliths indicating an omnivorous diet.
  • Anatomy places the species among mid-Cretaceous thescelosaurids (about 113–94 million years ago), and the team plans further CT-guided searches and fieldwork in Korea.