Villagers find the footprints of carnivorous dinosaurs in a stream in Gulin county in Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo: Courtesy of Xing Lida

A set of footprints of carnivorous dinosaurs that were found in a stream in Gulin county in Southwest China's Sichuan Province have been identified and given a name, the Chinese research team investigating the prints announced on Tuesday. The team decided to name the footprint species after the popular Japanese cartoon character Nobi Nobita from the Doraemon franchise to reflect the friendship between Japan and China. 

The footprints were confirmed to belong to dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous period, the researchers said in a press release, noting that their discovery is sure to promote understanding of the paleo-ecology of the Sichuan Basin during that period.

The research team investigates the footprints. Photo: Courtesy of Xing Lida

The footprints were discovered in July 2020 by local villagers. While cleaning a river after a flood, the villagers found a slab of stone with four footprints, each made by a creature with three stubby toes. Each footprint, about 30 centimeters in size, is about 50 centimeters apart and look like goldfish swimming in a river.

The research team, consisting of paleontologists from institutes including the Beijing-based China University of Geosciences, confirmed that the four footprints belonged to a new species of Eubrontes that they named Eubrontes Nobitai after the Japanese schoolboy who is befriended by a robot cat from the future.

Xing Lida, a paleontologist with the China University of Geosciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that two animated films in the Doraemon franchise - Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur (1980) and Doraemon: Nobita's New Dinosaur (2020) - were the direct inspiration for the name as he feels they are "excellent dinosaur-themed movies" that have led to many young children to fall in love with dinosaurs. 

"Dinosaurs discovered in China are also deeply loved by our Japanese friends. Dinosaurs from Sichuan Province have been exhibited in Japan many times, serving as a bridge of friendship between the people of the two countries," Xing noted.

Based on the footprints, researchers estimate their owners were about four meters long and were moving about 3.89 kph when they left the prints.