You are in the volcanic forested lands of South Africa, 195 million years ago.

The Early Jurassic air was thick, and I d you were scanning the edge of a scrubby thicket. You were looking for rare, small ornithischian dinosaurs, when you stumbled upon one.

A Pegomastax, no bigger than a house cat, was already there behind a bush. It looked like a nimble, porcupine-quilled parrot. It noticed you immediately, freezing beside a gnawed-upon fern.

It didn't run. Instead, it showed you why its jaw was so terrifying.

The Pegomastax snapped its jaws together, the top and bottom sets acting like a pair of self-sharpening scissors. The sound was surprisingly loud—a rapid clack-clack-clack. It wasn’t a display for a predator, but a territorial threat. It stood its ground, vibrating its bristly, needle-like quills, and gave a sharp, high-pitched hiss.