Sciurumimus

What it was like

Sciurumimus is known from one beautiful skeleton of a baby meat eater, only a few weeks or months old when it died. Its big eyes and short snout are typical of young animals.

The fossil shows traces of fine, hair-like fuzz on its body and tail. Its bushy tail reminded the scientists of a squirrel's, which gave it its name. It helps show that simple feathers may have covered many kinds of theropods, not just the ones closest to birds.

Its world

It lived about 152 to 149 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic, in what is now southern Germany. Its fossil comes from fine limestone of the Torleite Formation, laid down in quiet water near islands.

How it was found

Rauhut and colleagues named Sciurumimus albersdoerferi in 2012. Because the skeleton is so young, scientists still debate which family of theropods it belongs to.