New Species of Dinosaur Discovered in China: Fossil Remains Reveal Jurassic Juvenile

A new species of carnivorous dinosaur has been discovered in China. The fossil remains reveal a creature that was only a few feet in length, and could hint at more fossils in the area just waiting to be found.

The dinosaur, which has been named Aorun zhaoi, lived more than 161 million years ago in the earliest part of the Late Jurassic Period. At the time, dinosaurs had taken over the world. There were herds of Apatosaurus with each adult as large as five or six elephants. There was the massive Allosaurus, which was a two-ton meat eater, and there was the Stegosaurus, which is known for its armored, distinctive plates. The bird-like Archaepteryx soared through the skies while massive dinosaurs roamed the land.

While many large dinosaurs were present at the time, the new species was relatively small. Researchers estimate that it only stretched three feet in length and weighed about three pounds. Known as a theropod, the dinosaur possessed small, numerous teeth. It probably hunted small lizards and the relatives of today's mammals and crocodilians.

Yet the smaller size could easily be explained due to age. "We were able to look at microscopic details of Aorun's bones and they showed that the animal was less than a year old when it died on the banks of a stream," said Jonah Choiniere, one of the scientists who made the discovery, in a news release. Essentially, the dinosaur was a baby when it died.

The fossil itself, though, was almost overlooked by researchers at the site. It's actually the fifth new theropod discovered at the Wucaiwan locality by the team, but researchers weren't expecting to find it as complete as it was.

"All that was exposed on the surface was a bit of the leg," said James Clark, another one of the researchers, in a news release. "We were pleasantly surprised to find a skull buried in the rock too."

The details of the newly discovered dinosaur are published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.