Standing about 15.2 meters tall and romping the earth devouring plants and animals – this is how anyone will fantasize about a dinosaur without much efforts. But, when its fantasy, why not imagine it a 12 inches creature weighing just 4.4 pounds? Not an easy task, isn’t it?
But, it would be as easy when you would know that such a dinosaur existed 220 million year ago in real! Yes, scientists have unearthed skeletal remains of such an ‘early little dinosaur’ — a prehistoric ‘road runner of sorts’ — with its total length of about 3 feet from head to its tail.
With its svelte figure and long legs, it can well be assured that the little dinosaur could evade predators ‘lickety-split.’ Precisely, described to be an ‘early little runner,’ the new species is aptly named Eocursor parvus.
To understand its size better, it is right to compare it to a ‘fox’ and is thought to be one of the oldest members of Ornithischians — a group of plant-eating dinosaurs, which later evolved from this half-pint, two-legged dinosaur, including the ‘elephantine’ Stegosaurus and Triceratops.
Its resembling features of later Ornithischians is revealed by the lengthy hind-limbs, backward-facing pelvis and teeth, which is adapted for eating plants.
This discovery shows that a major mass extinction on earth at the Triassic period’s end provided these herbivores with huge space in the prevailing ecology.
It may also help scientists solve the still incomplete and controversial Ornithischian fossils, only few of which, belonging to the Triassic period, are found.
