A computer reconstruction of Kongonaphon kely, a 237-million-year-old reptile and dinosaur ancestor.

A homuncular species discovered in a sandstone basin in southern Madagascar over two decades ago may provide clues to the origins of the dinosaurs, including how pterosaurs learned to fly and why the creatures may have been covered in "fuzzy" skin coverings, like feathers.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, describes the discovery of a handful of fossils from a 237-million-year-old reptile, dubbed Kongonaphon kely, for the first time.

It has been classified as an archosaur -- a common ancestor of both dinosaurs and the flying pterosaurs -- and provides valuable clues to the early evolution of these animals, which were orders of magnitude larger than the diminutive Kongonaphon. .