The tail of the small, plant-eating Leaellynasaura dinosaur was three times as long as its body. Described in 1989 after skull fragments and bones were found in Australia's Dinosaur Cove - one of the few dinosaurs ever found in Australia - they were named after the discoverer's daughter (Leallyn). Large eye sockets and optic nerve casings may have given leaellynasaura enhanced vision to cope with the long, dark winter months. Odd to think of Australia having such winters, but during the early Cretaceous some 110 million years ago, this part of the world fell within the Antarctic circle.

More...