Mei

Mei ('soundly sleeping') is a genus of duck-sized troodontid dinosaur first unearthed by paleontologists in Liaoning, China in 2004. Mei lived during the Early Cretaceous Period. Its binomial name, Mei long means 'dragon, soundly sleeping'.

The type fossil is complete and exceptionally well preserved in three-dimensional detail, with the snout nestled beneath one of the forelimbs, similar to the roosting position of modern birds. This posture provides another behavioral link between birds and dinosaurs. The chemistry of the matrix stone and the resting pose indicate the living animal was probably buried instantly in volcanic ash.

Mei has the shortest genus name of any dinosaur, surpassing the previous record-holders Minmi, an ankylosaur discovered in Australia, and Khaan, an oviraptorid from Mongolia.