SHIJIAZHUANG, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A team of Chinese and foreign scientists have identified a new species of carnivorous dinosaur the size of a rooster in north China's Hebei Province.
The new species, Xunmenglong yingliangis, was a small carnivorous dinosaur living in the Early Cretaceous. Though its fossil was incomplete, scientists presume the dinosaur was about 60 cm long and had a long and flexible neck and a light skull, according to Xing Lida, an associate professor at the China University of Geosciences in Beijing and the leader of the team.
With small but sharp teeth that had curved edges, the dinosaur was particularly ferocious, said Xing.
"The finding is of great significance for understanding the evolution of dinosaurs," said Xing. "The species could serve as a calibration point for reconstructing biogeographic and stratigraphic patterns."
The scientific team also includes Niu Kecheng, executive curator of the Global Stone Museum, Tetsuto Miyashita from the University of Chicago and renowned Canadian paleontologist Philip Currie. Their finding has been published in the journal Cretaceous Research.
