Scientists in Buenos Aires have unveiled a new species of dinosaur related to the giant Tyrannosaurus, the smaller Velociraptor and modern-day birds.

Officials from the Argentine Museum of Natural Science dubbed the prehistoric creature, Bicentenaria Argentina, to mark the 200-year anniversary of the museum.

The Bicentenaria is likely to have measured between 2.5 and 3 metres long and was slim and agile.

Novas said the carnivorous dinosaur represents a new line leading to the evolution of modern-day birds and may have been partially or completely covered in feathers itself.

The shape of its sharp curved teeth and its long claws suggest Bicentenaria hunted other smaller dinosaurs.

The bones were discovered in Rio Negro in Argentina's Patagonia region and are thought to be approximately 90 million years old.

It lived during the Cretaceous period when giant dinosaurs walked the Earth.