world's first small dinosaur

 

Dinosaurs are an extinct group of reptiles that lived millions of years ago, so it's difficult to determine which was the very first dinosaur. However, some of the oldest known dinosaur fossils date back to the Late Triassic period, about 230 million years ago.

One of the earliest known dinosaurs is the Eoraptor, which lived during the Late Triassic period in what is now Argentina. Eoraptor was a small, agile, bipedal dinosaur that may have been an ancestor to all later dinosaurs.

It's worth noting that the classification and naming of dinosaur species is an ongoing process, as new discoveries are made and scientific understanding evolves

Eoraptor, meaning "dawn plunderer," is an early dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period, approximately 231 million years ago. It is one of the oldest-known dinosaurs, and its discovery helped to reshape the understanding of the evolution of dinosaurs.

Eoraptor fossils were first discovered in 1991 in the Ischigualasto Formation in northwestern Argentina. The fossils were found in a layer of rock that is believed to be around 231 million years old. The species was formally named in 1993 by paleontologist Ricardo Martínez.

Eoraptor was a small, bipedal dinosaur that stood about 1 meter (3 feet) tall at the hips and weighed around 10-15 kilograms (22-33 pounds). It had a long, slender body with a long tail and short arms that ended in three-fingered hands. Its hind legs were longer than its front legs, indicating that it was a fast runner.

Eoraptor had a small head with sharp teeth, which it likely used to capture and eat small prey such as insects, small mammals, and reptiles. It had large eyes, suggesting that it may have been active during the day.

Eoraptor's anatomy is significant because it shares characteristics with both theropod and sauropodomorph dinosaurs, which are two of the main groups of dinosaurs that later evolved. This suggests that Eoraptor may have been a transitional species, occupying an intermediate evolutionary position between the two groups.

The discovery of Eoraptor has also helped to shed light on the early evolution of dinosaurs. Prior to its discovery, it was believed that the first dinosaurs were large, fully-evolved creatures. However, the discovery of Eoraptor and other early dinosaurs like Herrerasaurus and Staurikosaurus showed that the earliest dinosaurs were small, agile predators that evolved gradually over time.

Eoraptor is a key example of the importance of fossil discoveries in understanding the history of life on Earth. By studying Eoraptor and other early dinosaurs, scientists can piece together the story of how these fascinating creatures evolved and diversified over millions of years