Name:
Sinusonasus (Greek for "sinus-shaped nose"); pronounced SIGH-no-so-NAY-suss
Habitat:
Woodlands of Asia
Historical Period:
Early Cretaceous (130 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 3 feet long and 20 pounds
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Feathers; large teeth
About Sinusonasus:
Sinusonasus must have been standing behind the door when all the cool dinosaur names were being handed out. It sounds like a painful disease, but this was actually an early feathered dinosaur closely related to the more famous Troodon. Judging by the single fossil specimen found so far, this feathered theropod appears to have been well-adapted to pursuing and eating a wide variety of small prey, ranging from insects to lizards to (possibly) other small dinosaurs of the early Cretaceous period.
