The smallest dinosaur discovered was a bird-like creature, Ashdown’s maniraptoran, only 16 inches long and weighing 7 ounces. It lived 100 million years ago and likely fed on insects, leaves, and fruit. Maniraptora was the only dinosaur group capable of flight and known to have breast bones.
Not all dinosaurs were gigantic behemoths like the brontosaurus or tyrannosaurus rex. The smallest dinosaur species archaeologists discovered was a small, bird-like creature that may have been only 16 inches (40.6 cm) long. Discovered by researchers at the University of Portsmouth in the UK in 2011, Ashdown’s maniraptoran is thought to have weighed just 7 ounces (about 200 grams) and lived 100 million years ago.
The bottom of the dinosaur food chain:
Maniraptora was the only dinosaur group with species capable of flight. They were also the only dinosaurs known to have breast bones.
Researchers suspect Ashdown’s maniraptoran fed on insects, as well as a diet of leaves and fruit.
Before this discovery, the smallest dinosaurs known to scientists were members of the genus Anchiornis, bird-like creatures that lived in what is now China about 160 million years ago.
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