Scientists name cute baby dinosaur after beloved Korean cartoon character

Scientists who discovered species of baby dinosaur in South Korea thought the prehistoric critter as so cute they named it after a popular Korean cartoon character.

A mischievous baby dinosaur named Dooly is one of the most beloved cartoon characters in South Korea.

So, when researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and the Korean Dinosaur Research Center discovered a new species of baby dinosaur from Korea's Aphae Island, they knew exactly what to call it: Doolysaurus.

"Dooly is one of the very famous, iconic dinosaur characters in Korea. Every generation in Korea knows this character," said Jongyun Jung, a visiting postdoctoral researcher at UT's Jackson School of Geosciences who led the research. "And our specimen is also a juvenile or 'baby', so it's perfect for our dinosaur species name to honor Dooly."

The find marks the first new dinosaur species identified in South Korea in 15 years, and the first Korean dinosaur fossil discovered with parts of its skull intact. The skull bones were revealed after the fossil underwent a scientific micro-CT scan at the University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography facility.

"When we first found the specimen, we saw some leg bones preserved and some vertebrae," Jung said. "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."

Research on the dinosaur, whose scientific name is Doolysaurus huhmini, was published in the journal Fossil Record on 19 March. The name huhmini honours the Korean palaeontologist Min Huh, who has contributed to the study of Korean dinosaurs over the past 30 years, founded the dinosaur centre, and worked with UNESCO to preserve fossil sites in the country. The fossil itself was discovered in 2023 by co-author Hyemin Jo.

The dinosaur is thought to have been around two years old at the time of its death and still growing. Roughly the size of a turkey, an adult Doolysaurus may have grown to about twice that size. Researchers also believe it may have been covered in a coat of fine, fuzzy filaments.

"I think it would have been pretty cute," said study co-author Julia Clarke, a professor at the Jackson School. "It might have looked a bit like a little lamb."

Much of the fossil remains encased in hard rock, a process that can take nearly a decade for specialists to remove by hand. However, analysis using micro-CT scanning revealed the full extent of the specimen within months. Jung and Clarke then spent more than a year analysing its anatomy alongside their colleagues.

Doolysaurus lived between around 113 and 94 million years ago, during the mid-Cretaceous period. Based on its anatomy, researchers have classified it as a thescelosaurid - a type of bipedal dinosaur found in East Asia and North America that may have had a fuzzy covering. Growth markers in a thin slice of femur bone confirmed it was a juvenile.

The fossil also contained dozens of gastroliths - small stones swallowed by the animal to help digest food. These suggest the dinosaur was an omnivore, feeding on plants, insects and small animals. Their presence also prompted researchers to take a closer look at the fossil.