A FLEET, predatory dinosaur that lived in Mongolia 80 million years ago had
teeth like those of the first birds, not like other dinosaurs. The
1.5-metre-high Bryonosaurus, a member of a group of large-eyed,
large-brained dinosaurs called troodonts, had smooth teeth. They resemble those
of Archaeopteryx, the first bird, which lived some 150 million years
ago.
A new analysis of the troodonts鈥� other bone features makes them appear to be
closer relatives of birds than other dinosaurs, says Mark Norell of the American
Museum of Natural History in New York (Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology, vol 20, p 7).
However,鈥漷his is not a simple story鈥�, he adds. 鈥淎s we find more and more
animals, we see a lot more variation than we ever thought was possible.鈥�
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