The smallest dinosaur ever discovered is only 16 inches long.

The smallest dinosaur ever discovered is only 16 inches long.

A piece of amber less than 1.5 inches wide contains the entire skull of Oculudentavis khaungraae, a newfound type of dinosaur that lived in what is now Myanmar 99 million years ago.

Oculudentavis

The fossil skull of the new species, dubbed Oculudentavis, meaning "eye tooth bird," is just over half an inch long. The smallest dinosaur ever found – a bird-like creature weighing less than a tenth of an ounce – has been discovered inside a drop of amber, where it was preserved for 99 million years.

Compsognathus

For decades, Compsognathus were famed as the smallest dinosaurs known; the first specimen collected was around 1 m (3 ft) in length. However, dinosaurs discovered later, such as Caenagnathasia, Microraptor and Parvicursor, were even smaller.

Micropachycephalosaurus

The dinosaur with the longest name was Micropachycephalosaurus meaning "tiny thick-headed lizard". Its fossils have been found in China, and it was named in 1978 by the Chinese paleontologist Dong.