species of small birdlike theropod dinosaurs living in the area, although most of them were slightly larger than Mei. This probably led to a lot of niche partitioning. There were only five or six species of herbivorous non-theropod dinosaurs, however, and a large and varied fauna of early mammals and pterosaurs. The apex predator was the 9-meter-long tyrannosauroid Yutyrannus, which would have preyed on the two or more species of sauropod. Often, volcanoes erupted, entombing animals in ash and suffocating others with carbon monoxide, which accounts for the high level of preservation of fossils. Mei probably fed on small lizards and insects on the forest floor. It probably climbed trees as well to shelter from larger predators, and was probably not omnivorous. Judging by the length of the legs, it was a fast runner. Nothing is known about its nesting habits. When the first fossil of Mei was discovered, scientists were charmed to see the fossil in a birdlike sleeping posture. Mei long means 'sleeping dragon' in Chinese. The animal had probably died from carbon monoxide poisoning, then became entombed in ash. See also Timeline of troodontid research Changmiania References External links Mei long at the American Museum of Natural History Troodontids Aptian life Valanginian life Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Asia Cretaceous China Fossils of China Yixian fauna Paleontology in Liaoning Fossil taxa described in 2004 Taxa named by Xu Xing Taxa named by Mark Norell