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sharp-clawed runner
Avimimus
Say it like this: “AY-vim-EYE-muhs”
Avimimus portentosus
Avimimus ate plants and meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Mongolia.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 1981 · Kurzanov, S. M.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 1.5 m · 5 ft
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- Mongolia · Nemegt
- Food and walking
- Omnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Oviraptorosauria
The story in short
The genus Avimimus dates to 1981, the year S. M. Kurzanov described it. The name means “bird mimic.”
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian), roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from Mongolia, including the Nemegt Formation. It was an omnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Avimimus at a length near 1.5 m.
On the family tree it sits in Oviraptorosauria, among the theropod dinosaurs.
This entry is the whole genus. The type species is Avimimus portentosus. Other named species include Avimimus nemegtensis.
Other species with this name
- Avimimus portentosus
- Avimimus nemegtensis
Close relatives
Incisivosaurus
Incisivosaurus gauthieri
Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Protarchaeopteryx
Protarchaeopteryx robusta
Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Yuanyanglong
Yuanyanglong bainian
Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago