Five Smallest Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs were pre historic reptiles that lived in the Mesozoic era from 248 million to 65 million years ago. The largest was 100 feet long and up to 50 feet tall; the smallest the size of a chicken. Paleontologists have put together a complete picture of tiny dinosaurs from fossils. The five smallest are:

1. The microaptor, a fascinating creature and the smallest carnivore which could easily be mistaken for a mutated bird. It was feathered on arms, legs and tail, making it a four – winged dinosaur. It measured two feet from head to tail and subsisted entirely on a diet of insects.

2. The microceratops was the smallest herbivore at a foot and a half high and 4 pounds in weight. It moved swiftly on two feet to avoid the onslaught of bigger predators.

3. Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that varied in size from a few inches to over 40 feet.

They were lightly built and had hollow bones. They had powerful wings which they flapped rather than glided. They were carnivores and ate fish, crabs and insects.

4. The lariosaurus was the smallest aquatic reptile at about 2 feet long from head to tail and weighing a little over 20 pounds. It had a streamlined body and a long pointed tail. It lived both on land and in water.

5. The Humming bird is the smallest of the dinosaur species that lives even today. It can weigh as little as one tenth of an ounce. Some paleontologists believe that dinosaurs did not go extinct but evolved into birds one of which is the humming bird.