The Smallest Dinosaurs: Tiny Terrors of the Mesozoic

It’s easy to imagine dinosaurs and picture larger-than-life creatures such as the T. rex, Triceratops, or Brachiosaurus. While all these beasts were big, the same isn’t true for every Mesozoic reptile. There were many small dinosaurs that were tiny terrors of the Mesozoic era, including the Microraptor, Compsognathus, Unenlagia, and the Eoraptor. Let’s get an up-close look at these fierce predators.

Microraptor

This tiny dinosaur weighed between two and four pounds and was around 2.5 feet long, which is about the size of a modern crow. However, being small didn’t mean this creature was weak. The Microraptor wasn’t one to back down. This theropod had sharp teeth and hunted fellow animals and likely weaker dinosaurs.

Moreover, paleontologists theorize that the Microraptor is related to the infamous Velociraptor. Both animals belong to the same species group and lived in what is modern-day China. Considering this information, we can hypothesize that the Microraptor was equally as fierce.

Dino fact: fossil records indicate that the Microraptor could most likely glide through the air because it had feathers and wing-like structures. Theropods are also the ancestors of modern birds.

Compsognathus

The Compsognathus was another tiny terror of the Mesozoic. This theropod lived during the late Jurassic period in what is now France and Germany. Like other theropods, it walked on two legs and had sharp teeth to tear meat apart.

This predator was only two to three feet long and weighed roughly 12 pounds. While it may not be much of a threat to the average person, it could easily kill small animals or dinosaurs. The Compsognathus was agile and had sharp claws on its forelimbs, which allowed it to grab or claw at prey.

Unenlagia

Fossil records indicate that the Unenlagia lived in Argentina during the Cretaceous period. Although it wasn’t as small as the Compsognathus or the Microraptor, the Unenlagia was no big dinosaur either. This small theropod was around 7.8 feet long and roughly three feet tall.

Paleontologists don’t know much about this dinosaur species, as we’ve only uncovered a few bones so far. However, due to its bone structure, many suspect that the Unenlagia was an early ancestor of modern birds.

Eoraptor

The Eoraptor was another small dinosaur, weighing 22 pounds and measuring around 5.5 feet long. This theropod lived in what is now Argentina during the late Triassic period. Like other dinosaurs on this list, the small size of this theropod didn’t stop it from being a threat. Its sharp claws and curved teeth made it a force to be reckoned with as it hunted.

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