Paleontologists hailing out of Alberta have recently discovered a pint-sized prehistoric addition to North America’s dino discoveries.
Considered to be the smallest carnivorous dinosaur discovered on this continent, 
don’t let its mini-size minimize this tiny terror. With razor sharp claws and teeth, its been compared with the velociraptor – and we all know how they completely took over Jurassic Park.
Nicholas Longrich, from the University of Calgary, was among the researchers. “It was half the size of a domestic cat and probably hunted and ate whatever it could for its size – insects, mammals, amphibians and maybe even baby dinosaurs,” he described it. It also was likely it weighed less than two kilograms.
The dinosaur – called the Hesperonychus Elizabethae – is a tiny, bird-like predator that ran on his hind legs. They’ve assumed it hunted near marshes and forests. Hesperonychus means “western claw”, a reference to the sickle-shaped claw on its two hind limbs used to slash at prey. Elizabethae pays homage to the late Elizabeth Nicholls, a former Albertan paleontologist who originally made the discovery in 1982.
The fossilized claws and pelvis were unearthed at the Dinosaur Park Formation, about 140 kilometres east of Calgary. They were store in a drawer until 2 years ago, when Longrich, alongside University of Alberta’s Philip Currie, decided to study them. They soon discovered that the hip bones resembled the velociraptor, and the pelvic bones were fused together, indicating it was an adult.
Because of the amount of bones discovered, they began to explore the prevalence of the dinosaur further. “To find something this small you have to get down on your hands and knees,” Longrich explained. “Once I knew what to look for, I started seeing them everywhere.”
The results are also significant due to it being the first time that velociraptor-like dinosaurs were seen to have lived in North America.
Longrich and Currie’s article describing the Hesperonychus Elizabethae was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
Source: msn.com
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Interested in more things dino-related from the Alberta Dinosaur Park? Click here to visit their website.
Images courtesy of ctv.ca and boston.com
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Discussion Take a look at what is being said about this article.
Jenn, on March 25th, 2009 says:
I’m a student, and a budding Paleontologist. This stuff is awesome! Thanks for keeping us posted on such an important issue.