Dino card No. 1317 of 2,015

Ornithomimus

Say it: or-NEETH-oh-MY-mus

Name means: “bird mimic”1

Ate: PlantsOstrich dinosLate Cretaceous

Ornithomimus was a fast, ostrich-like dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous. It had a small toothless beak, long legs, and was covered in downy feathers. Adults even had wings on their arms, which they probably used for showing off to mates.1 2

Lived

84 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Alberta, Canada, and several states in the USA including Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming3 1

Food

Plants2

Length

3.8 m2

Weight

170 kg2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Ornithomimus was one of the first feathered dinosaurs found in the Western Hemisphere. Paleontologist François Therrien discovered the feathers in 2008.2

Its brain was small and its sense of smell was poor, so it probably relied on its big eyes and good eyesight to find food and avoid danger.2

Young Ornithomimus did not have wings on their arms. Only adults grew the long, stiff feathers that formed wings, which they used for courtship displays.2

Ornithomimus could run very fast thanks to its long, powerful legs and big leg muscles. It probably escaped predators by sprinting away.2

Its fingers had long, straight claws that might have helped it grab branches or dig for food.2

The name Ornithomimus means 'bird mimic' because its feet looked a lot like a bird's feet.1

AI-made picture of Ornithomimus — An AI-made picture of how Ornithomimus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

Myth buster

Myth: Many people think Ornithomimus was a meat-eater like most other theropod dinosaurs.

Truth: Ornithomimus had no teeth and a beak, so scientists think it was a plant-eater or an omnivore, not a carnivore.2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Ornithomimus
Named by: Marsh 18903
Group: Ostrich dinos
Family / clade: Ornithomimidae3
Classification: Theropoda > Ornithomimosauria3
Age of the rocks: 84 to 66 million years (Campanian to Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Lance, Horseshoe Canyon, Denver3
Countries: USA, Canada3
Fossil records: 35 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The first Ornithomimus fossils were found in Colorado in 1889 by George Lyman Cannon. The famous paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh named the dinosaur Ornithomimus velox in 1890.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating what Ornithomimus ate. Some think it was a plant-eater, others think it ate insects, small animals, and maybe fruit too.1 2

Where the facts come from

Ornithomimus (en.wikipedia.org)
Ornithomimus | The Canadian Encyclopedia (thecanadianencyclopedia.ca)
Ornithomimus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@dinowiki.app and we will fix it.