BONN, Germany, June 7 (UPI) -- A new species of dwarf dinosaurs has been discovered in northern Germany, possibly the first example of island dwarfism for dinosaurs.
Scientists believe the tiny plant-munching sauropods lived on an island during the Late Jurassic period.
Martin Sander and colleagues from the University of Bonn studied the remains of more than 11 sauropods found in the Kimmeridgian marine beds of northern Germany. With the dinosaurs' total body lengths ranging from 5.5 to 20 feet, the team initially thought the dinosaurs were juveniles. But bone histology indicated they were dwarfed adults.
With the Central Europe of Jurassic times submerged by sea, the tiny dinosaurs probably lived on one of the large islands around the Lower Saxony basin where physical isolation and limited resources would have favored the survival of smaller dinosaurs with lesser appetites.
The new species is unveiled in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
