Scientists have identified a fossil found in England as a dinosaur dubbed the little dragon. This dinosaur is related to Tyrannosaurus Rex, but it was about the size of a chicken.
Despite its tiny size, it was a terrifying predatory dinosaur, even at the top of the food chain, at the time it lived, which is thought to be around 200 million years ago. Scientists named it Pendraig milneare, where Pendraig means 'head of the dragon' and milnerae in honor of the late local scientist, Angela Milner.
"These animals are typical theropods, meat-eating dinosaurs that walked on two legs, like the T Rex or the velociraptor you know from the movies, but lived much earlier," said Dr Stephan Spiekman, one of the researchers.
This dinosaur fossil fragment was actually found in Wales in the 1950s. However, it had been neglected for so long until it was discovered by Milner and re-examined.
The period of his life is about 200 to 215 million years ago in the late Triassic period. Its size is similar to that of a chicken, but its tail can be up to 1 meter long.
"This dinosaur lived close to the beginning of the evolution of meat-eating dinosaurs. It is clear from its bones that it was a meat-eater, but early evolution in this group of animals was small, in contrast to T Rex which developed much later," said Stephan Spiekman, an expert from Natural History. Museum.
"The area where these dinosaur specimens were found seems to have been islands at the time they lived. Species that live on islands often become smaller than on land in a phenomenon called island dwarfism," he added.
