Friday, May 06, 2005

New Dinosaur

See picture here.

Now paleontologists in Utah say they have found the missing link in a new species of feathered dinosaur. Falcarius utahensis, whose name means "sickle maker from Utah," appeared about 125 million years ago. The creature, with 4-inch claws on its outsized forefeet, measured about 12 feet from its snout to the tip of its long, skinny tail. It stood just over 3 feet tall at the hip and could apparently reach about five feet off the ground with its long neck to munch leaves or fruit, said Utah state paleontologist James Kirkland.
It had the built-for-speed legs of meat eaters but was developing the bigger belly of plant eaters. It had already lost the serrated teeth needed for tearing flesh; those were replaced with the smaller, duller vegetarian variety.