Deinocheirus
Deinocheirus was a huge, weird dinosaur with giant claws, a duck-like beak, and a hump on its back like a camel. It looked like a mix of several animals and was one of the strangest dinosaurs ever found.1
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Fun facts
For a long time, scientists only had a pair of arm bones with huge claws to study Deinocheirus. They did not know what the rest of the dinosaur looked like until 2014.1
Deinocheirus had a large hump on its back, supported by its backbone. This made it look a bit like a camel.1
Its hands were huge and had long, sharp claws. The name Deinocheirus means 'terrible hand'.1
Deinocheirus lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 70 to 66 million years ago.1
It was an omnivore, meaning it ate both plants and meat. Scientists think it used its beak to eat plants and small animals.14
Deinocheirus belonged to a group of dinosaurs called ornithomimosaurs, which are often called 'ostrich dinosaurs' because they looked a bit like ostriches.4
Most asked questions about Deinocheirus
?How big was Deinocheirus?
It was about 11 metres (36 feet) long and weighed around 6.5 tonnes (7.2 short tons). That is as long as a big bus.3
?What did Deinocheirus eat?
It was an omnivore, meaning it ate both plants and meat. It had a duck-like beak for cropping soft plants, and fish scales found with one specimen show it also ate fish.3
?Did Deinocheirus have feathers?
Yes, it probably had a fan of feathers on its tail. The tail ended in pygostyle-like vertebrae, which is a sign of feathers.3
?Why did Deinocheirus have such big claws?
Its huge, blunt claws were probably used for digging and gathering plants. The name Deinocheirus means 'terrible hand' because of those big claws.3
?Was Deinocheirus a dinosaur?
Yes, it was a dinosaur. It belonged to a group called ornithomimosaurs, which are often called 'ostrich dinosaurs'.31
?When did Deinocheirus live?
It lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 70 to 66 million years ago.1
?Could Deinocheirus run fast?
No, it was not built for speed. It had short legs and a bulky body, so it moved slowly.3
?What hunted Deinocheirus?
Bite marks on its bones show that the tyrannosaurid Tarbosaurus probably attacked or scavenged it.3
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Deinocheirus
- Named by
- Kielan-Jaworowska 19694
- Group
- Ostrich dinos
- Family / clade
- Deinocheiridae4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Ornithomimosauria4
- Age of the rocks
- 100 to 66 million years (Cenomanian / Maastrichtian)4
- Rock formations
- Nemegt, Baynshire4
- Countries
- Mongolia4
- Fossil records
- 5 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Deinocheirus was named by Polish paleontologist Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska in 1969. The first fossils were found in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.41
Where the facts come from
- Deinocheirus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Deinocheirus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Deinocheirus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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