Koreanosaurus
Extinct genus of dinosaurs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Koreanosaurus (lit. 'Korean lizard') is a genus of orodromine neornithischian dinosaur that lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous of what is now South Korea. One species has been described, Koreanosaurus boseongensis.
| Koreanosaurus Temporal range: Campanian, | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fossil holotype | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Family: | †Thescelosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Orodrominae |
| Genus: | †Koreanosaurus Huh et al., 2011 |
| Species: | †K. boseongensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Koreanosaurus boseongensis Huh et al., 2011 | |
Discovery
In 2003, three specimens of Koreanosaurus were found in the Late Cretaceous-age Seonso Conglomerate from the southern coast of the Bibong-ri dinosaur egg site, Boseong, Korean Peninsula.[2] These specimens include the holotype KDRC-BB2, a partial upper skeleton lacking the skull, and two additional specimens which contains portions of the pelvic girdle and lower leg (KDRC-BB1 and KDRC-BB3).[3] The type species was named after its locality (Boseong site 5). This taxon was initially named and described in a master's thesis by Dae-Gil Lee in 2008,[4] and was officially published by Min Huh, Dae-Gil Lee, Jung-Kyun Kim, Jong-Deock Lim and Pascal Godefroit in 2011.[3]
Description
Koreanosaurus was a relatively small dinosaur, reaching 2–2.4 meters (6.6–7.9 ft) in body length.[5][6] Based on its taxonomic position and the existence of small burrows from the Seonso Conglomerate, Koreanosaurus is likely a burrowing dinosaur.[3] Unlike its orodromine relatives, Koreanosaurus is assumed to have been a quadruped.[7]
Classification
Koreanosaurus was considered to be a basal member of the Ornithopoda by the authors, forming a clade with Zephyrosaurus schaffi, Orodromeus makelai and Oryctodromeus cubicularis from which they deduced a burrowing lifestyle.[3] In 2012, Han et al. found it plausible that Koreanosaurus might be a member of Jeholosauridae or closely related to it.[8] Subsequent phylogenetic analyses by researchers including Han et al. consistently classified Koreanosaurus as a member of Thescelosauridae,[9] specifically within the subfamily Orodrominae.[10][11][12][13]