The Smallest Ever Dinosaurs Live in North America

Among the giant reptiles that lived in ancient times, there was chicken-sized dinosaur. Perhaps this is the smallest dinosaur that ever lived in North America millions of years ago.

Dinosaur species named Albertonykus borealis is a member of the group of dinosaurs called Alvarezsaurus. Group of ancient animals that once inhabited also Asia and South America.
Only 70 centimeters high and is the smallest group Alvarezsaurus ever found. Its existence is known from dozens of arm and leg bone fossil found in Alberta Canada since 2002. However, the new analysis completed this year and found that 70 million years old.

"They really are a strange animal," said Nick Longrich, a paleontologist at the University of Calgary Canada who together with his team reported the findings in the latest edition of the journal Cretaceous Research. Imagine, these animals have a strong snout like a clamp, slender legs like a bird, long tail and stiff, and short sleeves like T-rex.

Despite the short arm, its function may remain important. At the end there are two of his fingers and a thumb is long and curved like claws.


The researchers suspect the dinosaur preys on small insects. This can be seen from the small teeth. A strong thumb and a sharp probe tree holes may be used to search for ants or termites.