BBC News watch One-Minute World News Last Updated: Monday, 11
February 2008, 21:15 GMT Flying reptiles came in miniature
Nemicolopterus crypticus.  Image: Michael Skrepnickaption The
fossil is one of the smallest pterosaurs known to science A new
fossil species of flying reptile with a wingspan of less than
30cm (1ft) has been discovered in China.  The nearly complete
articulated skeleton was unearthed in fossil beds from north-
eastern China.  The 120-million-year-old reptile had not reached
adulthood when it died, but neither was it a hatchling.  Study
of the fossil suggests it is one of the smallest pterosaurs
known, a team says in the journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.  The new species has been named
Nemicolopterus crypticus, which means "hidden flying forest
dweller".  The researchers from Brazil and China say the
toothless, sparrow-sized specimen contains several unique
anatomical features that distinguish it from other pterosaurs
(ancient flying reptiles).  For example, some of the