The meek did inherit the earth.
A new dinosaur fossil discovered in Venezuela lends evidence that some dinosaurs survived extinction in the Triassic era due to a smaller size. The newly named Laquintasaura venezuelae was about three feet long or the size of a dog.
The study, titled "A palaeoequatorial ornithischian and new constraints on early dinosaur diversification" published in the journal of Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was authored by Paul M. Barrett, Richard J. Butler, Roland Mundil4 Torsten M. Scheyer, Randall B. Irmis and Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra.
The fossil was named after the country, since it was the first dinosaur fossil found there.
The venezuaelae were ornithischian, bird-like dinosaurs that were herbivores, such as the triceratops or the stegosaurs. "It was probably largely herbivorous, but its slightly curved and elongated teeth hint at occasional omnivory," said lead author Paul Barret. "The teeth are the most distinctive feature of the new dinosaur, as their elongated, curved outline and striated surfaces are unique."
That isn't the only thing that the small fossil revealed. Barrett said, "There are many surprising firsts with Laquintasaura. Not only does it expand the distribution of early dinosaurs, its age makes it important for understanding their early evolution and behavior."
With the fossil being about 200 million years ago, it dates to the start of the Jurassic period, after the extinction that happened in the Triassic period which wiped out half of the species on the planet, including large dinosaurs.
"In many ways, this extinction was a major help to dinosaurs, as it killed off a number of other reptile groups that might have been competitors," Barrett told Live Science. "Laquintasaura is known only 500,000 years after the extinction, and shows that ornithischians were quick off the mark during this recovery period."
The laquintasaura helps illustrated how the small dinosaurs survived and then evolved into various other dinosaurs and creatures.
