'Missing link' bolsters bold theory on dinosaur evolution

PARIS - An oddball, vegetarian dinosaur with the silhouette of a flesh-ripping velociraptor, whose fossilized remains were unearthed in southern Chile 13 years ago, is a missing link in evolution, researchers said on Wednesday.

A revised assessment of the kangaroo-sized Chilesaurus, reported in the journal Biology Letters, bolsters a theory unveiled earlier this year that threatens to upend a longstanding classification of all dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs were the monarchs of Earth for 160 million years until a space rock collided with the planet 65.5 million years ago and wiped out those confined to land.