The first non-avian maniraptoran skeletal remains from the Lower Cretaceous of Korea

Most dinosaurian material discovered on the Korean Peninsula remains undescribed and poorly documented. The specimen DGBU-78 is a well-preserved, non-avian theropod femur found in the Hayang Group of the Gyeongsang Supergroup in Korea. A phylogenetic analysis based on femoral characters suggests that it belongs to non-avian Maniraptora more derived than Oviraptorosauria. This specimen possesses a crest-like fourth trochanter, which is similar to those in dromaeosaurids such as Adasaurus mongoliensis and Velociraptor mongoliensis, suggesting a possible close phylogenetic relationship to these taxa. Non-avian maniraptorans including dromaeosaurids have been found in roughly contemporaneous deposits in China and Japan. Therefore, the discovery of the present material in the Korean Peninsula provides further supporting evidence for possible faunal exchange within East Asia during the Early Cretaceous.