Scientists Name Nobita For New Dinosaur Species Found In China, Inspired By Doraemon Anime

JAKARTA - Exactly one year since scientists discovered a new species in China. After a year had passed without a name, scientists finally gave a name to the dinosaur which was allegedly from this Cretaceous era.

Once you hear the name, you may feel familiar. Yes, the name given by scientists to the new species of dinosaur is Eubrontes Nobitai.

Yes, you read it right. In fact, one of the scientists involved in the discovery of the fossils also stated that the naming was indeed inspired by the character Nobita from the Doraemon anime series.

Professor Xing Lida, one of the members of the discovery team, considered that every Doraemon movie that includes dinosaur characters is very good. Examples include the Nobita's Dinosaur series, which was released in 1980 and Nobita's New Dinosaur, which was launched in 2020.

According to him, the two films made many children love dinosaurs. In addition, scientists also agree on the name Nobita because Doraemon is a collective memory of the Chinese people who were born in the 1980s.

The announcement of the name of this new dinosaur species was first announced in the Journal of Palaeontology published by China University of Petroleum in Beijing. The specimen, which consists of fossilized footprints, was first discovered in China's Sichuan province.

The size of each footprint is estimated to be 30 cm long. Scientists also think that the body of the dinosaur may have measured four meters.

Research scientists believe that this type of dinosaur is related to carnivorous or predatory species that lived in the Cretaceous era. Creatceous is the final period of the existence of dinosaurs on earth before they finally became extinct.

Uniquely, the people who live around the location of the discovery are already aware of the existence of these fossils. However, they did not think that the fossils actually belonged to dinosaurs.

Citing scientific papers published by researchers, local people even consider the fossilized footprints to be goldfish. So, by the community, the fossil is not too ignored.

In addition, these dinosaurs are referred to as ichnospecies. That is, only identified based on fossil footprints. The fossil is basically a relic of existence and existence. So, not a complete bone fossil or the like.

Xing also said that he would send fossil replicas to the Tokyo National Museum and Fujiko Co Ltd. – the production house behind the Doraemon franchise. The plan, Nobita's dinosaur fossils will be exhibited in November 2021.