South Korea has come a long way. The little country that could boasts high-performing cars, impressive electronics and the reigning women’s Olympic figure skating champion. Well, now it can add cool dinosaur to that list!
Say hello to the Koreaceratops hwaseongensis, which apparently roamed what is now South Korea 103 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period, according to researchers. A newly discovered specimen of the animal—which includes its backbone, hip bone, parts of its hind limbs and tail—indicates to paleontologists that this was a Labrador-sized dinosaur related to the Triceratops only with less headgear and a fan structure on its tail. It was about 5 to 6 feet long and weighed less than 100 pounds.
This is reportedly the first horned dinosaur, also known as a ceratopsian, to be found on the Korean peninsula and helps fill in a “missing 20 million-year gap in the fossil record between the origin of these dinosaurs in Asia and their first appearance in North America,” according to paleontologist Michael J. Ryan, who coauthored a study on the specimen.
I’m obviously no expert, but did notice this Koreaceratops, arguably, has many very “Korean” qualities:
-It was an herbivore, meaning it ate lots of veggies (can you say kimchi breath?)
-An examination of its hind feet suggests it was a fast mover (balli, balli!)
-Its frilly fan-like tail is considered quite unique, with Ryan suggesting one reason for it could be “purely for show.”
A Korean dinosaur, indeed.
