Afarensis is a 3.5-2.8 million year old hominin from the Kada Hadar member of the Hadar formation in the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. He is approximately 41 inches tall, weighs approximately 60 pounds and has a cranial capacity of a whopping 410 cc (approximately). Afarensis is currently considered to be transitional between apes and humans and displays some traits of both. Since he spends a lot of time on the couch watching monster movies, some observers question whether he is an obligate biped (although no one has observed him climbing a tree). He also has a blog called 
Added Later: I have the paper now (Thanks to several people who sent copies!) and will have more to say when I have read it.
According to New Scientist a new species of dwarf sauropod has been identified:
The first fossil evidence for dwarf dinosaurs was unearthed at the end of the 19th century, but no one was quite sure whether the fossils were dwarf adults or merely juveniles of normal-size dinosaurs. Now, an analysis of fossilised bones from 11 individuals of this new species (Europasaurus holgeri) shows conclusively that they were adults.
Here is a line drawing - showing the bones found and where they belong on the dinosaur (from the supplementary material to the Nature article):
*snip*
The proof comes from examining thin sections of the fossilised bones for growth marks. As an individual ages and bone growth slows, these growth marks get closer and closer together - a distinctive sign of adulthood. Sander and his colleagues are the first to use this technique on dwarf dinosaur bones and it revealed that the smallest individual, thought to be a juvenile, reached 1.7 metres long, while the largest fully grown adult stretched 6.2 metres. "I think it's a very powerful technique," says Peter Dodson, a dinosaur expert at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, who was not involved in the study.
Here is where Europasaurus holgeri fits in the sauropod family tree:
The paper is published in Nature (if someone can send me a copy of this I would appreciate it).
From the BBC here are a few more. First a reconstruction of the skull:
Second, models of the sauropods:
In height terms, an adult E. holgeri would have been about the size of a horse at the shoulder. Compare this with other sauropods, which were bigger than buses, tens of metres in length and could weigh 100 tonnes or more.
So here is a picture comparing an adult and juvenile with a human:
I have also written a second post on this subject, which can be found here.
Comments
Oh No! The perfect size for Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble to have ridden. Expect Kent Hovind and the other wingnuts to picture them with saddles on them soon!
Posted by: J-Dog | June 7, 2006 2:42 PM
I'm sure they are already in the process of doing that...
Posted by: afarensis, FCD | June 7, 2006 3:19 PM
A dwarf dinosaur? It seems like it's sorta missing the point, no? Aw, who am I kidding? It's still cool. I want one.
Posted by: pough | June 7, 2006 5:06 PM
Are they sure they weren't just microcephalics with achondroplasia?
Posted by: Peter Ellis | June 8, 2006 3:32 AM
A lot of the news stories are making that link. A point of interest, I have been doing some research for a follow up post and have discovered that Europasaurus holgeri isn't the only dwarf dinosaur from that area...
Posted by: afarensis, FCD | June 8, 2006 9:51 AM
The ugly secret is that dinosaurs never did fit in the evolutionary charts, large, dwarf, or upside down. Evolution can't account for them AT ALL. Also of interest: :http://www.bearfabrique.org/books/books.html
Posted by: Mortimer Shy | June 9, 2006 4:34 PM
Umm, okay. I'm sure the paleontology world will be happy to hear that...
Posted by: afarensis, FCD | June 9, 2006 6:05 PM