Pukyong National University

Found fossils of dinosaur footprint with ’clearly printed toes’
Professor Paik In sung’s research team

Gijang district office released the discovery of dinosaur footprint fossils. This is a fossil discovered by the research team of Professor Paik In sung of the Department of Earth Environmental Sciences, Pukyong National University. The first discoverer was Park Jeong-kyu, a graduate student in the department. When it comes to dinosaurs, how can we not mention Pukyong National University. Because, we have the Pukyongosaurus millenniumi. A dinosaur with the Korean name for the first time in the world and the dinosaur with the name of Pukyong National University is the Pukyongosaurus millenniumi. It is the research team of Professor Paik that first discovered Pukyongosaurus millenniumi. Professor Paik is currently the chairman of the Natural Monuments Subcommittee of the Cultural Properties Committee, an advisory board of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA). Pukyongosaurus was discovered in 2000 by the team led by Professor Paik on the small rocky island located on the coast of Galsa-ri, Geumseong-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do. This time, the fossils of dinosaur footprints came out from the waterfront in front of the parking lot of ’Sinpyeong mini park’ in Ilgwang-myeon. The tracks were 10 feet or more and the material was Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, which is about 20 cm per feet. At the time of 2000, Pukyongosaurus was found to include 5 pieces of the neck vertebrae, 1 piece of a vertebra, 1 piece of the clavicle, 1 piece of the rib, and 1 piece of the coccyx. The size of the dinosaurs totaled 20m from head to tail. This Pukyongosaurus is not only a new kind that has never been found on the Korean Peninsula until then, but it is also the first case that fossils enough to restore a dinosaur’s original shape have been found. At this point, it attracted the attention of the academic community at the time. <기사 보러가기(클릭!)>

△ A footstep trace of a dinosaur footprint fossil found at the coast of Gijang-gun, Busan.

△ A skeletal frame of the Pukyongosaurus displayed in the lobby of the Pukyong National University’s Museum.

19 March 2020

연구진
  백인성 paikis@pknu.ac.kr
  환경？해양대학 지구고환경연구실