Korea moves to protect rare Cretaceous fossils

Deep inside a block of Late Cretaceous rock excavated from a coastal mudflat, the fossilized bones of Koreanosaurus boseongensis tell a story that extends far beyond the dinosaur’s lifespan. Discovered more than two decades ago, the small, herbivorous creature is the first ornithischian — or bird-hipped — dinosaur skeleton ever unearthed on the Korean Peninsula. More crucially, it remains the only dinosaur skeleton in the country whose precise excavation was fully documented from the moment it was chipped from the earth. The Korea Heritage Service took formal steps Monday to grant Natural Monument status to the Koreanosaurus and two other rare prehistoric discoveries. The designation reflects an accelerating effort by Korea to institutionalize its rich, yet often overlooked, paleontological record, transforming casual field discoveries into state-protected assets. Preserved at Chonnam National University, the Koreanosaurus provides critical evidence of how the Orodrominae subfamily — known for short forelimbs and swift movement — dispersed between Asia and North America roughl

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