Doolysaurus huhmini

Doolysaurus huhmini is a small early-diverging ornithischian from the mid-Cretaceous Ilseongsan Formation of Aphae Island. Its associated skeleton includes diagnostic cranial material, making it the first Korean dinosaur named from a skull that can be distinguished anatomically rather than from footprints, eggs or isolated bones. Much of the animal remains embedded in two adjoining blocks, so CT imaging was central to identifying the jaws, braincase, vertebrae and limbs. Bone histology indicates that the individual was only zero to two years old and still growing; its adult proportions and size are unknown.

Its fossils occur between approximately 113 and 97 million years ago. Values shown here are approximate and reflect the current curated seed dataset.

The specimen preserves parts of the dentary and maxilla with small leaf-shaped cheek teeth, a quadrate and braincase elements, as well as dorsal vertebrae, ribs, a femur, tibia, fibula, metatarsals and toe bones. The reconstructed femur was about 12 to 13 centimetres long. A cluster of polished stones interpreted as gastroliths weighed 30.7 grams. Diagnostic details occur mainly in the jaw, quadrate and braincase. No skin or feathers are preserved.

• Small leaf-shaped cheek teeth in a compact skull
• Diagnostic quadrate and braincase anatomy revealed by CT
• Slender hind limb with an estimated 12-to-13-centimetre femur
• Associated cluster of polished gastroliths
• Juvenile bone tissue indicating active growth at death

KDRC-SA-V001 was excavated from reddish sandy mudstone of the Ilseongsan Formation on Aphae Island in Shinan County, southwestern South Korea. The associated bones occur in two contiguous blocks and are curated at the Korea Dinosaur Research Center of Chonnam National University in Gwangju. Jongyun Jung, Minguk Kim, Hyemin Jo and Julia A. Clarke named the species in March 2026. The genus honours Dooly the Little Dinosaur, a famous Korean cartoon character, and the species honours Korean palaeontologist Min Huh.

Naming authors: Jongyun Jung, Minguk Kim, Hyemin Jo, Julia A. Clarke.

Sedimentology places the animal on a warm mid-Cretaceous floodplain. Reddish sandy mudstone, palaeosols and crevasse-splay deposits record rivers periodically spilling across the landscape. The preserved carcass was buried in this low-energy continental setting.

The hind-limb proportions support primarily bipedal movement. Teeth and gastroliths are compatible with processing plant matter, while the describers note that the skull may fit a generalized or omnivorous feeding strategy. Because the only individual is a juvenile and gut contents are absent, diet, speed, sociality and parental behaviour remain uncertain.

• It is named after Dooly the Little Dinosaur, one of South Korea's best-known cartoon characters.
• CT scanning exposed bones that could not be safely removed from the rock.
• The gastrolith cluster weighed 30.7 grams, about 0.37 percent of the reconstructed body mass.
• The holotype died at an estimated age of zero to two years and was still growing.

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1. 01
   A new dinosaur species from Korea and its implications for early-diverging neornithischian diversity

   Jongyun Jung, Minguk Kim, Hyemin Jo, Julia A. Clarke · Fossil Record 29(1) · 2026

   Open source
2. 02
   New species of South Korean dinosaur named after famous cartoon character

   Natural History Museum, London · 2026

   Open source
3. 03
   Korea Dinosaur Research Center

   Chonnam National University

   Open source