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Bite the dust: meek dinosaur lost its teeth as it hit adulthood

Limusaurus are seen in this illustration provided in this handout to Reuters, December 22, 2016. Yu Chen/Handout via REUTERS

A modest little dinosaur that scampered across northwestern China 160 million years ago boasted a unique trait not seen in any other dinosaur or other prehistoric creature yet unearthed: it was born with teeth but became toothless by adulthood.

Scientists on Thursday said fossils of 19 individuals of a dinosaur called Limusaurus, ranging in age from under a year to 10 years, showed that juveniles had small, sharp teeth but adults developed a toothless beak.

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