February 11, 2008—An illustration shows a newfound "mini pterodactyl," which lived in the canopies of ancient gingko forests in what is now China about 120 million years ago.

The sparrow-size Nemicolopterus crypticus, whose discovery was announced this week by Chinese and Brazilian scientists, is one of the smallest pterosaurs known.

Despite its small stature and 10-inch (25-centimeter) wingspan, the toothless reptile may be the ancestor of gigantic pterodactyls that stretched 20-feet (6-meters) from wing tip to wing tip.

This fossil opens a new chapter on the evolutionary history of this group of [flying] reptiles, said study lead author Alexander Kellner, of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The study was published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

• More Photos in the News
• Today's Top 15 Most Popular Stories
• Free Email Newsletter: "Focus on Photography"