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sharp-clawed runner
Ornithomimus
Say it like this: “or-NITH-o-MIEM-us”
Ornithomimus velox
Ornithomimus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States and Canada.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 1890 · Marsh, O. C.
- Hip height
- 0.8 m · 3 ft
- Length
- 3.8 m · 12 ft
- Weight
- 170 kg · 375 lb
- Found in
- the United States and Canada · Denver
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Ornithomimidae
The story in short
In 1890, O. C. Marsh published the name Ornithomimus. The name means “bird mimic.”
Fossils referred to Ornithomimus date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian), roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from the United States and Canada, including the Denver Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Ornithomimus at a length near 3.8 m, hips about 0.8 m high, and a body mass around 170 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Ornithomimidae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
This entry is the whole genus. The type species is Ornithomimus velox. Other named species include Ornithomimus edmontonicus.
Other species with this name
- Ornithomimus velox
- Ornithomimus edmontonicus
Close relatives
Aepyornithomimus
Aepyornithomimus tugrikinensis
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Anserimimus
Anserimimus planinychus
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Archaeornithomimus
Archaeornithomimus asiaticus
Late Cretaceous (Coniacian · Santonian · Campanian) · roughly 89.8 to 72.2 million years ago