考古里程碑 馬達加斯加出土超迷你恐龍化石
（Art by Frank Ippolito© American Museum of Natural History）
我們通常認為恐龍是體型巨大且力大無窮的動物。
We usually think of dinosaurs as big, powerful animals.
然而，科學家在馬達加斯加發現了一些化石。
However, scientists discovered some fossils in Madagascar （馬達加斯加）.
這些化石顯示恐龍起初的體型比較小。這種動物存活於 2 億 3 千 7 百萬年前，而且身長只有 10 公分高。
These fossils suggest dinosaurs were smaller at first. The animal lived about 237 million years ago, and was only ten centimeters tall.
科學家們將之命名為「Kongonaphon kely」。
The scientists named it Kongonaphon kely.
牠以昆蟲為食，並且賴以為生。
It ate insects, and this helped it survive.
同時期的其他動物則食肉且爭奪食物，這個以昆蟲為主食的動物便有了更多的食物可以選擇。
Other animals at the time ate meat and competed for food. This bug-eater had more food to choose from.
另一則關於 Kongonaphon kely 的有趣事實──牠有毛髮。
There's another interesting thing about Kongonaphon kely: it had hair.
科學家認為牠的身上有短毛或者羽毛，這可以幫助牠們保暖。
Scientists think it had short hairs or feathers on its body. They helped it stay warm.
科學家們也相信牠並不只是早期的恐龍，牠有可能也是翼龍的祖先。
Scientists also believe it's not just an early dinosaur. It might also be the ancestor of pterosaurs.
我們並未掌握關於 Kongonaphon kely 詳細的資訊。
We don’t know much about Kongonaphon kely yet.
藉由更深入地了解 Kongonaphon kely，我們可以知道恐龍進化的過程。
Learning more about it could tell us about how dinosaurs evolved.