For a group of scientists in China, their love for popular children's cartoon 'Doraemon' inspired them to name a dinosaur species after one of the characters in the show.

A new carnivorous species

Back in July 2020, the group of scientists found a footprint fossil of a new species of dinosaur in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

The footprint features three chubby digits, and the distance between the four footprints is around 50 centimeters.

Based on the footprints, the length of the dinosaur's sole is about 30cm, and the length of its body is estimated to be nearly four meters long.

Yep, he's a big boi!

The scientists have recognised the fossil as being related to a new species of the carnivorous dinosaur Eubrontes in the Cretaceous.

The paper on the discovery was reportedly published on 5 July, Kyodo News reported.

Named after a 'Doraemon' character

Now that the scientists have determined what species the new dinosaur belongs to, comes the hard part: what to name it.

And it being a carnivore, it deserves a cool, masculine name like its fellow carnivores Tyrannosaurus Rex or Velociraptor, right?

Well, the scientists have decided to name it after a character from 'Doraemon', so meet ‘Eubrontes nobitai.’

That's right, it was named after Nobita, Doraemon's clumsy best friend from the TV series.

According to Mashable SEA, scientists chose the name because 'Doraemon' was a "common memory" among people who were born in China in the 1980s.

The report, quoting associate professor Xing Lida, pointed out that every 'Doraemon' movie featuring dinosaurs such as 'Nobita's Dinosaur (1980)' and 'Nobita's New Dinosaur (2020)' was "very excellent", and made "many children come to like dinosaurs."

The chosen name was first published in the Journal of Palaeontology at the China University of Petroleum in Beijing.

"I am glad to see Eubrontes nobitai has been receiving a lot of media attention. A tribute to Doraemon's curiosity, imagination, and kindness. These beautiful qualities transcend national boundaries," Xing said in a recent tweet.

I am glad to see Eubrontes nobitai has been receiving a lot of media attention.A tribute to Doraemon's curiosity, imagination, and kindness. These beautiful qualities transcend national boundaries. pic.twitter.com/RG794OUZ0U

— Lida XING (@LidaXing1982) July 8, 2021

To further pay tribute to the cartoon character, Xing has also sent send replicas of the fossil to the Tokyo National Museum, as well as a set to Fujiko Co Ltd, the studio that created and produced 'Doreamon'.

How sweet is that?

According to the report, the Tokyo National Museum is set to put the fossil replica on display in November 2021.