Scientists hail discovery of one-fingered T rex relative

Linhenykus, a parrot-sized, two-legged creature, shows that dinosaur evolution was more complex than originally thought, researchers sayIt weighed about as much as a large parrot, was related to the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex and boasted just one finger on each hand.Although it might sound like the punchline to a joke, the Linhenykus monodactylus is an important new discovery, say experts: the first two-legged dinosaur with only one claw on each forelimb.The species is part of the theropod group – which also included T rex and Velociraptor, and which ultimately gave rise to birds – said Professor Xu Xing, who led the international team of researchers that found the northern Chinese specimen."Linhenykus was very small sized, similar to a [large] parrot. We think it lived on ants and other small insects. It might also have been the prey of other kinds of dinosaurs in the area," added Xu, of the Institute of...

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