The world's tiniest dinosaur tracks belong to a raptor the size of a sparrow that were found at an excavation site in South Korea by a palaeontologist known for his eagle eye.
University of Queensland researcher Anthony Romilio was part of a team that examined the 110 million year old footprints that were first found in Jinju Innovation City in 2011.
He says he was shocked when he saw the tiny tracks about one centimetre long, which means the raptor that made them was small enough to fit in your hand.
"We knew they were raptor tracks, because we know what they look like. It was the size that was the extraordinary component, " Dr Romilio told AAP on Friday, after an article on the findings was released in an international science journal.
"They are the world's smallest dinosaur tracks," he said.
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Dr Romilio said the tracks were first found by Professor Kyung Soo Kim from Chinju National University of Education, South Korea.
He was there to look for signs of cultural heritage to rescue and conserve as construction in Jinju was underway.
"You've got to hand it to him, spotting it ... We say he has an eagle eye," Dr Romilio says.
The researchers are unsure if the tracks were adult carnivorous dinosaurs or their chicks but are leaning towards them being the babies.
