Tiny cat-sized dinosaurs walked over China 100 million years ago; probably had spikes on their tail

An international team of paleontologists has found a single footprint left by a cat-sized dinosaur some 100 million years ago in China. Dr Anthony Romilio, a researcher at the University of Queensland, was a member of the team that looked into the track after it was discovered by Associate Professor Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences, Beijing.

Dr Romilio said, "This footprint was made by a herbivorous, armoured dinosaur known broadly as a stegosaur — the family of dinosaurs that includes the famed stegosaurus. Like the stegosaurus, this little dinosaur probably had spikes on its tail and bony plates along its back as an adult."

This is the tiniest known footprint of a stegosaur, measuring less than six centimetres. It stands in stark contrast to other stegosaur prints discovered at the Chinese track site, which reached a maximum length of 30 centimetres, and prints discovered in locations like Broome, Western Australia, where they can reach a maximum length of 80 centimetres.

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The tiny footprint features three short, wide, round toe impressions, which are typical of other stegosaur footprints. The print was not stretched, unlike its larger counterparts found at the track sites, which shows the young stegosaur behaved differently.

On all fours, like modern stegosaurs, they often walked with their heels on the ground, leaving behind long imprints. The minute footprints reveal that, like modern birds and cats, this dinosaur had been moving with its heel elevated off the ground.

"We've only previously seen shortened tracks like this when dinosaurs walked on two legs," Dr Romilio added.

(with inputs from agencies)