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Tiny dinosaurs




Somebody was asking about teeny-tiny dinosaurs. There's some very small dinosaur specimens known only from teeth. A tooth-crown known for _Koparion douglassi_ (?troodontid; Late Jurassic, Utah) measures 2mm high. Several Late Triassic putative ornithischians from North America are known from tooth-crowns 2-3mm high: _Lucianosaurus wildi_, _Pekinosaurus olseni_, _Tecovasaurus murryi_. But who's to say these teeth didn't come from juveniles (even hatchlings)?


The smallest adult dinosaur I know of is _Mellisuga helenae_ from Cuba. Males measure about 5.5 cm long (about 2.17 in), and weigh only 1.95 g (about 0.07 oz). It's commonly known as the Bee hummingbird.


Tim ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com