When Giovanni Todesco dug up a small, birdlike skeleton in southern Italy about 10 years ago, he didn't think it was anything special. Then a few years later, he saw Jurassic Park. The movie's lean, birdlike velociraptors looked familiar. Todesco decided to turn over his fossil to experts. They confirmed the connection: Todesco's fossil wasn't a bird--it was a dinosaur! Last week Nature magazine revealed his discovery to the world.

No dinosaur fossil had ever been found in Italy before. But that wasn't the most amazing thing about the discovery. Not only were almost all the dinosaur's bones preserved, but so were some of its insides! The dinosaur had probably died soon after it hatched. Scientists can see large portions of its intestines and liver, along with muscles and tough throat tissue.

Scientists call the new dinosaur Scipionyx samniticus (Sip-ee-on-icks sam-nit-i-cuss). It probably belongs to the same family as Tyrannosaurus rex and velociraptors.

The fossil's incredible detail provides new information about dinosaur bodies. It may also offer more clues about the link between dinosaurs and birds. Says Mark Norell of the American Museum of Natural History: "It really is a beautiful specimen."

Daily News from TIME for Kids

April 3, 1998 World Report