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Fossils reveal dinosaur forerunner smaller than a cellphone

©American Museum of Natural History

This illustration provided by the American Museum of Natural History in July 2020 depicts a Kongonaphon kely, a newly described reptile near the ancestry of dinosaurs and pterosaurs, shown to scale with human hands. Kongonaphon lived roughly 237 million years ago. (Frank Ippolito/American Museum of Natural History)

By: Associated Press

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Scientists have discovered a pocket sized dinosaur forerunner that was just 4 inches tall.

Named Kongonaphon kely, which means tiny bug slayer, the creature looked like a dinosaur but scampered the Earth earlier, predating both dinosaurs and flying pterosaurs.

The fossils, dug up in Madagascar, date from 237 million years ago, according to a study Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Mini Dinosaur — This illustration provided by Alex Boersma in July 2020 depicts a Kongonaphon kely, a tiny relative of dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Kongonaphon lived roughly 237 million years ago and would have stood only 10 centimeters (4 inches) tall. (Alex Boersma via AP)

Scientists say it had strong hind legs and feasted on bugs. They figure the little guy was an adult because of growth rings in its bones.

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Fossils reveal dinosaur forerunner smaller than a cellphone

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