Smallest dinosaur
- Who
- Microraptor zhaoianus
- What
- 39 / 24 centimetre(s)
- Where
- China (Chaoyang)
- When
- 1999
The smallest species of dinosaur is the feathered Microraptor zhaoianus, measuring a total length of 39 cm (1 ft 3 in), of which 24 cm (9.4 in) is tail. A fossil of the species was discovered in Chaoyang, Liaoning Province, China, in 1999, and was dated to 110-120 million years old, from the Early Cretaceous period.
Although not the first winged dinosaur to evolve, it is acknowledge as the first documented four-winged dinosaur species, with all four of its limbs presumably used for aerial activity.