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Limusaurus are seen in this illustration provided in this handout to Reuters, December 22, 2016. Scientists in China have identified the first known dinosaur species that grew teeth as juveniles then lost them as adults, a finding that may explain why birds have beaks, a study said Thursday. The research is based on fossils of a small and slender dinosaur known as Limusaurus inextricabilis, part of the theropod group of dinosaurs which were the ancestors of modern birds. It likely ate meat as a youngster but transformed into a beaked adult that probably subsisted on plants, said the study in Current Biology. Among contemporary fish and amphibians, such tooth loss is commonly seen. The platypus, a beaked mammal, loses its teeth, too. Researchers said the discovery of tooth loss in the Limusaurus marks the first in the fossil record and the first among reptiles. (Photo by Yu Chen/Reuters)
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