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Scientists Finally Discovered Why There Were No Pocket-Sized Dinosaurs

Haven’t you ever wondered why there were no dino hamsters?

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There were small dinosaurs. Microraptor is a good example. It was about the size of a crow, weighed roughly 1 to 3 pounds, and was only about 2½ feet long. They don’t get much smaller than that. There were no frog-sized dinosaurs. No dino hamsters. Scientists have wondered why for years, and might have finally come up with an answer. Or rather, they might have found someone to blame: mammals.

A new study published in Evolution used mathematical models to figure out why dinosaurs were generally so big and were rarely small enough that you would seriously consider turning them into a pet no matter how much they wanted to eat you. The model suggests that basic physiology and energy requirements alone can’t explain why non-bird dinosaurs never evolved into teeny tiny pocket-sized little guys.

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