In the spring of 2005, a team of paleontologists, led by James Kirkland of the Utah Geological Survey, announced the find of a new kind of dinosaur in the Cedar Mountain Formation. Dating from the early Cretaceous geological period, this dinosaur was caught in the act of trading in a meaty diet for one of leafy greens.

Falcarius utahensis sports teeth adapted to shredding leaves, and a pelvis wide enough to accommodate a long, plant-digesting gut. Its legs, however, retain long thigh bones, optimal for chasing fast prey.