Scientists recently discovered a 237-million-year-old, very small reptile thought to be an ancestor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Kongonaphon kely stood barely 4 inches tall.
Frank Ippolito/©AMNH
The 16-inch-long dinosaur Caihong juji lived 161 million years ago and likely sported a colorful crest.
Velizar Simeonovski
Archaeopteryx is known as nature’s first bird, appearing about 150 million years ago. It measured about 1.5 feet long.
Zhao Chuang
Albertavenator curriei lived in what is now Alberta, Canada, 71 million years ago and and probably stood as tall as a young child.
Oliver Demuth
Sinosauropteryx measured 3 feet long and lived about 130 million years ago.
Jakob Vinther
The Microraptor lived about 125 million years ago and barely reached 3 feet long.
Heraldo Mussolini/Stocktrek Images
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