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sharp-clawed runner
Ornitholestes
Say it like this: “or-NITH-o-LES-teez”
Ornitholestes hermanni
Ornitholestes ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
- Named in
- 1903 · Osborn, H. F.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 2–2.2 m · 7–7 ft
- Weight
- 12–15 kg · 26–33 lb
- Found in
- the United States · Morrison
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Coelurosauria
The story in short
Ornitholestes was formally named in 1903 by H. F. Osborn. The name means “bird robber.”
It lived in the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Morrison Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Ornitholestes at a length near 2–2.2 m and a body mass around 12–15 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Coelurosauria, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Aniksosaurus
Aniksosaurus darwini
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian · Turonian) · roughly 100.5 to 89.8 million years ago
Aratasaurus
Aratasaurus museunacionali
Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago
Bicentenaria
Bicentenaria argentina
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago