A new species of dinosaur was recently discovered in a hotel room in Perth, Australia. While the origins of most recognizable dino specimens date back to the Mesozoic Era, the "Bagasaurus" is entirely the product of parental ingenuity in the Age of COVID.

Carly Catalano knew that moving from British Columbia to Australia with her partner, Sam, and their 3-year-old daughter Florence during the pandemic would mean undergoing a mandatory 14-day hotel-room quarantine.

Facing two weeks in tight quarters with an active toddler was a situation that demanded creative thinking, so Carly and Sam came up with a strategy to keep their precocious offspring engaged.

Working with takeout bags and containers, some disposable cutlery, an ironing board, and a few other miscellaneous items, the family began construction of its very own DIY dinosaur.

Should those in the scientific community wish to take note: The Bagasaurus stands 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) tall, adores little girls who dress up in matching paper-bag-scaled outfits, and is an herbivore—or would be if it actually ate the home-grown sprouts Florence offers her papier-mâché pet on a regular basis.

"We've been growing wheatgrass," Carly explained in an interview with CBC Radio West. "So she's been wanting to… feed the dinosaur wheatgrass—as well as eat most of it herself."

Carly Catalano knew that moving from British Columbia to Australia with her partner, Sam, and their 3-year-old daughter Florence during the pandemic would mean undergoing a mandatory 14-day hotel-room quarantine.

Facing two weeks in tight quarters with an active toddler was a situation that demanded creative thinking, so Carly and Sam came up with a strategy to keep their precocious offspring engaged.

Working with takeout bags and containers, some disposable cutlery, an ironing board, and a few other miscellaneous items, the family began construction of its very own DIY dinosaur.

Should those in the scientific community wish to take note: The Bagasaurus stands 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) tall, adores little girls who dress up in matching paper-bag-scaled outfits, and is an herbivore—or would be if it actually ate the home-grown sprouts Florence offers her papier-mâché pet on a regular basis.

"We've been growing wheatgrass," Carly explained in an interview with CBC Radio West. "So she's been wanting to… feed the dinosaur wheatgrass—as well as eat most of it herself."

In addition to its other commendable qualities, while the Bagasaurus has some big claws, its carbon footprint is eco-friendly.

Rather than having the fossil's remains consigned to a museum (or trash bin) when the family departs the hotel, they plan to recycle the entire beast, keeping only the head as a souvenir of their prehistoric adventure.

(WATCH a time-lapse video video to see how they did it…)

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