Mini-dinosaurs emerge from quarry (BBC)

***
Martin Sander, from the University of Bonn, and colleagues studied the remains of over 11 sauropods found in a quarry at Oker, near Goslar, Lower Saxony.

With total body lengths ranging from 1.7 to 6.2m (5.5-20ft), the team originally thought the dinosaurs were juveniles. But when the scientists examined the fossils closely, they realised they were dealing with dwarf creatures.
***
In height terms, an adult E. holgeri would have been about the size of a horse at the shoulder. Compare this with other sauropods, which were bigger than buses, tens of metres in length and could weigh 100 tonnes or more.

The fossils were found in Late Jurassic carbonate rock (about 150 million years old). At this period in Earth's history, much of what is now central Europe was under water. Dr Sander and colleagues suggest the dinosaurs could have lived on one of the large islands around the Lower Saxony basin.
***
"The ancestor of the Europasaurus would have dwarfed rapidly on immigrating to the island, or as a response to shrinking land masses caused by rising sea levels."


***
more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5055128.stm

These look to be a convenient size for riding!

cool!