Scientists Discover New Bird-Sized Flying Dinosaurs

Scientists have discovered a new dinosaur called Nemicolopterus crypticus, which means "hidden flying forest dweller" The fossils were uncovered in the western part of China's Liaonin province, a region that was forested during the time the flying dino lived there 120 million years ago.

"We have this really amazing creature, sparrow-sized, which lived essentially in the trees, showing us a very new, very interesting side of the evolutionary history of those animals," said Alexander Kellner of the National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Pterodactyls, the most famous of the flying dinosaurs, have mostly been found along the coastal regions. But now, with the discovery of this new dinosaur, it can be revealed that flying dinosaurs lived deep within the continent as well.

The fossils of flying dinosaurs are very rare as they spent most of their time in trees. Scientists believe that this discovery may aid them in understanding the evolution of the winged vertebrates.

The Nemicolopterus crypticus is so far the smallest of its group of flying pterosaurs, and when the fossil was first found, researchers thought it was a baby. The dino's skull was not fully fused, which means it wasn't yet an adult, but the ends of the bones were developed which suggests that it was not a hatchling either. It's not known how big the dino could have gotten, but researchers suggest that even if it grew to double the size they found it, it would still be the smallest of its group.

The legs and feet of the Nemicolopterus crypticus had attachments for muscles, which indicates that it could grasp limbs. But, unlike most pterodactyls, this one lacked teeth and scientists believe it may have eaten insects.

Matthew Carrano, a paleontologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, said that smaller specimens have been found in the past, but those were very clearly younger than this one.