Fossils Reveal Dinosaur Forerunner Smaller Than a Cellphone
Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2020 11:28 pm
A woman and a small boy wear face masks as they look at dinosaur skeletons while on a structured one directional walk, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, at the Museum of Natural History in Brussels, May 19, 2020.
Meet Kongonaphon kely, a pocket-sized dinosaur forerunner that was smaller than your cellphone.
The creature, which predated dinosaurs and flying pterosaurs, was just shy of 4 inches (10 centimeters) tall, according to a study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Some of these things would have been quite cute animals," said study lead author Christian Kammerer, a paleontology researcher at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Looking like a small dinosaur that could fit in your hand, Kammerer mused that it "would probably make a great pet."
Of course, no humans were around when Kongonaphon was roaming the wild, jumping around with its strong hind legs and feeding on bugs with its peg-like teeth, Kammerer said. The name means tiny bug slayer.
The fossils, dug up in Madagascar, date from 237 million years ago. Scientists figure the little guy was an adult because of growth rings in its bones, Kammerer said.