Scientists dug up bones of the animal in 2021 and 2022, in the Morrison formation in the US state of Colorado. Because the skull and the parts of the spine were missing, the precise length of the Mollyborthwickae, as the herbivorous dino was baptized, is unknown. It is estimated that the animal was 64 centimeters high and a meter long, about the size of a Labrador. But unlike a dog, according to the paleontologists, the tail of the dinosaur took about half his height.
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The enigmacursor – Latin for ‘mysterious runner’ – must have had the weight of a collie. The species was therefore many times smaller than other dinosaurs who lived in the same period, such as the Stegosaurus and Diplodocus.
Eeb part of the Morrison formation in Colorado. © Getty Images
Although the bones were discovered a few years ago, the researchers published their findings this week in the scientific journal Royal Society Open Science. From Thursday the skeleton can also be seen in the Natural History Museum in London. According to Professor Paul Barrett, who led the research and is connected to the museum, the discovery of a very small herbivorous dinosaur is rare. Not because such animals did not occur millions of years ago, but because their remains are more difficult to keep and fossil hunters overlook them more easily.
The enigmacursor would be smaller than other dinosaurs from that time. © ANP / EPA
“It is not common that a largely completed skeleton is actually found instead of a few pieces and bones of bones. That is why they are not so well known,” Barrett told CNN. According to Barrett, the lightweight would have walked on its long hind legs, with which he could quickly escape predators. However, in the case of the found copy that is possible, but it is possible to a limited extent. The scientists noted that the animal was not yet completely fully grown. Because there are no signs of illness or injury in the bones, it is unfortunately impossible to determine how the animal died.