Fossil Traces Deep Dinosaur Roots

Scientists have described a new primitive dinosaur species, Eocursor parvus, which lived in the Late Triassic - about 210 million years ago.

Unearthed in South Africa's Free State, the creature appears to have been a small, agile plant-eater.

The team tells a Royal Society journal that Eocursor sheds light on the early evolution of the Ornithischia.

This important group included the well known herbivororous dinosaurs Triceratops and Stegosaurus.

The fossil specimen was first identified in 1993 but only recently appraised.

It is by far the most complete example of a Triassic ornithischian known, comprising skull and skeletal material, including bones of the backbone, arms, pelvis and legs.