The fossil was dug up in New Mexico in 1947, but then sat in storage for 60 years. When it was finally unwrapped at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York City, researchers were in for a big surprise.
Instead of the dinosaur they expected, they got an entirely new critter: a six-foot-long animal that walked on two legs and sported a beak but no teeth. Named Effigia okeeffeae, it lived 210 million years ago and was closely related to ancient crocodiles. "Effigia lived in the forest, but we don't know what its diet was," researcher Sterling Nesbitt told TFK. Whatever it ate, Effigia is an important find, says Nesbitt. "It is a keystone that will help us understand other fossils."