Archaeornithomimus

Skeleton replica of Archaeornithomimus

• China

Archaeornithomimus is a dinosaur genus from the group of Ornithomimosauria within the Theropoda. He lived during the early Cretaceous in what is now East Asia.

Features

Archaeornithomimus reached a length of about 3.5 meters. His physique resembled that of the other Ornithomimidae: The relatively small and lightly built skull sat on a long, flexible neck. The snout was elongated and terminated in a horned beak, teeth were not available. The large eyes sat side of the head. The arms were built relatively large, but weak. The hands wore three fingers, ending in blunt claws. The hind legs were larger than the front legs, the dinosaur was moving biped ( two-legged ) away. The extended lower leg and metatarsal bones are a sign that Archaeornithomimus could run fast. The feet ended in three forward-facing toes. From other Ornithomimidae this dinosaur difference in the more robust limb bones, in the number of sacral vertebrae ( five rather than six sacral vertebrae ) and in the construction of the ischium ( ischium ).

Archaeornithomimus one of the few Ornithomimosauriern, of which a mass deposition of many, sometimes poorly preserved animals was found. It is therefore conceivable that he lived at least part of the year in groups. What this dinosaur ate with his toothless beak, is not known. Findings in related genera suggest rather to a plant or omnivorous diet.

Discovery and designation

The fossil remains of Archaeornithomimus were found in the Irish - Dabasu formation in Inner Mongolia in China. In 1933 the first description by Charles W. Gilmore, still under the name Ornithomimus asiaticus - it was the first in Asia discovered members of this group. 1972 Dale Alan Russell coined the new genus Archaeornithomimus. The name ( " old bird mimic " ) alludes to the similarity with the " bird mimic " Ornithomimus and to the higher age of this find. Information vary the age of this dinosaur, Makovicky et al. (2004) date the Fund for the time being in the in the Coniacian ( Early Cretaceous, about 89 million years ago to 86).