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Dinosaur species

Ornithomimus

Two ostrich dinosaurs under attack from T. rexTwo ostrich dinosaurs under attack from T. rexA theropod from the Late Cretaceous Period, Ornithomimus was a typical member of the ornithomimid group: the "ostrich dinosaurs". The group also included Struthiomimus, Gallimimus, Anserimimus and Dinocheirus. Different ostrich dinosaurs looked quite similar to one another. All had long, slender necks—making up a large proportion of their total length—small heads and large eyes. Their beaks were toothless. Their gangling arms had three, straight-clawed fingers. Ornithomimus and its relatives ran with their stiffened tails held horizontally. Their long legs had elongated feet bones. 

Ostrich dinosaurs

OrnithomimusOrnithomimusA feathered GallimimusA feathered GallimimusOrnithomimus lived in the same environment as Struthiomimus, and was distinguished from it only by its shorter torso, slimmer arms and more slender hand and foot claws. Gallimimus, from East Asia, differed from Ornithomimus by the fact that its skull was longer and its hands were shorter.


Recent fossil evidence of feathers in Ornithomimus's forearms has been found, suggesting that all the ostrich dinosaurs may have had feathered, rather than scaly, skins.

A herd of OrnithomimusA herd of Ornithomimus

Lifestyle

Unlike most other dinosaurs, the ostrich dinosaurs had no teeth at all.

 

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