In the Valley of the Moon, high in the Andes, a team of paleontologists and geologists have announced the discovery of a dinosaur ' at the root of the dinosaur family tree' which roamed South America as the age of dinosaurs began approximately 230 million years ago.
It had a long neck and tail and weighed only 10 to 15 pounds. They have aptly named the new dinosaur Eodromaeus - the "dawn runner."
"It really is the earliest look we have at the long line of meat eaters that would ultimately culminate in Tyrannosaurus rex near the end of the dinosaur era," said Paul Sereno, University of Chicago paleontologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. "Who could foretell what evolution had in store for the descendants of this pint-sized, fleet-footed predator?"
Eodromaeus
