Scientists examine fossils at a study site in the western part of China's Liaoning Province in this undated photo.

A team of Chinese and Brazilian paleontologists recently announced the discovery of a new type of tiny flying reptile.

The mini-pterosaur, dubbed Nemicolopterus crypticus, had a wingspan of only 10 inches (25 centimeters)—about the size of a modern sparrow.

The newfound creature might provide clues to the evolution of later, more massive pterosaurs, the largest of which measured nearly 40 feet (12 meters) from wing tip to wing tip.

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