A dinosaur bone fossil named after Korea, the first new dinosaur species found in the country, has been designated a national heritage item.
The Korea Heritage Service said on the 6th that it had designated the skeletal fossil of the Boseong ornithopod dinosaur, Koreanosaurus boseongensis, as a natural monument. The agency said the fossil is "a representative case of a Korean dinosaur skeletal fossil whose scientific name was recognized after formal description in a German geology and paleontology journal indexed in SCIE in 2010, and it is a highly unusual case of great academic value in that it is the only skeleton with a clearly documented site of discovery and excavation process."
The fossil, found in Boseong, Jeollanam-do, is regarded as a milestone in the history of dinosaur research in Korea. It was discovered between 2000 and 2004 during a survey of the dinosaur egg fossil site on the coast of Seonso Village in Bibong-ri, Boseong, which is itself designated a natural monument as the Boseong Bibong-ri dinosaur egg fossil site. Researchers looking for intact dinosaur bones or traces of hatchlings identified a left shoulder blade, vertebrae and ribs in 2003.
The fossil also carries significant value as the first trace of an ornithopod dinosaur found on the Korean Peninsula. Ornithopods were dinosaurs with bird-like feet, characterized by three toes and blunt, broad footprints. The Korea Heritage Service said the animal was "an orodromine dinosaur very rarely found in Asia, providing important evidence of dinosaur migration between North America and Asia during the Cretaceous period."
The fossil is currently stored and studied at the Korea Dinosaur Research Center at Chonnam National University in Buk-gu, Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City.
After Koreanosaurus boseongensis, Koreaceratops hwaseongensis, found in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, was reported to academia in 2011. It was discovered in 2008 and designated a natural monument in 2022. Dooliesaurus hominai became the third dinosaur recognized as native to Korea in February this year.
Heo Min, commissioner of the Korea Heritage Service and known as the "dinosaur doctor," is widely credited with leading the excavation survey and research on Koreanosaurus boseongensis. While serving as director of the Korea Dinosaur Research Center at Chonnam National University, Heo excavated numerous dinosaur footprints and skeletal fossils, and was named an honorary fellow of the Geological Society of London in recognition of that research. Dooliesaurus hominai also bears Heo's mark, with the species name hominai taken directly from his name.
The Korea Heritage Service also designated two other items as natural monuments the same day: the skeletal fossil of the Yeosu pig-nosed turtle, Byeoljubukelys yeosuensis, and the weathering pits of Suudo Island in Tongyeong.
The Yeosu pig-nosed turtle fossil is a turtle fossil found on Soreukdo Island in Yeosu in 2006, with both the carapace and plastron preserved. The agency said it is "highly rare in that it is the only turtle fossil found in Korea with appendicular skeletal elements, including the spine and the fore and hind limb bones, fully preserved."
The Tongyeong Suudo weathering pits stretch across the southern coastal cliffs of Suudo Island in Saryang-myeon, Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, and the southern side of the adjacent Ttandokseom Island. Weathering pits are landforms in which hollows form on rock surfaces through physical and chemical weathering, mostly in dry or marine environments.
An official at the Korea Heritage Service said the site is "a geological heritage where the formation and growth of weathering pits can be observed continuously in one location, and it remains well preserved in its original form to this day."
