Ornithomimosauria
Fast, ostrich-like theropods from the Cretaceous.
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Theropod dinosaurs classified as Ornithomimosauria had an outward appearance similar to ostriches living today.[1] During the Cretaceous Period, these dinosaurs inhabited Laurasia (modern Asia, Europe, and North America) and potentially Africa, being quick-moving animals with diets that included both plants and meat.[1]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassReptilia
- CladeDinosauria
- CladeSaurischia
- CladeTheropoda
- Clade†Ornithomimosauria
Named by Barsbold, 1976
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Ornithomimosauria (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Quick Facts
- Field
- Paleontology
- Known for
- Bird-mimic dinosaurs, among the fastest of all dinosaurs
- Time period
- Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- Laurasia (Asia, Europe, North America), possibly Africa
Facts from the source article.
Biology and range
Deinocheirus and Pelecanimimus have been speculated to be feathered as well.[2] Henry Fairfield Osborn suggested their long arms may have been used to pull down branches.[3] Comparisons of scleral rings indicate they may have been cathemeral, active throughout the day at short intervals.[4] These dinosaurs possessed small skulls, large eyes, and necks that were both long and slender.[5]
Jaws of the earliest ornithomimosaurs contained small teeth, but more derived species evolved a beak lacking teeth.[5] Powerful claws were present on their long, slender forelimbs.[5] Specimens of Ornithomimus edmontonicus provide clear proof that feathers were present.[2] Plants are thought to have been the primary source of calories for ornithomimosaurs.[3]
Gastroliths have been discovered in the stomach regions of numerous primitive ornithomimosaur species.[3] Evidence suggests that ornithomimosaurs commonly lived in groups.[6]
What the specialist sources record
A 2019 phylogenetic analysis by Scott Hartman and colleagues resulted in a novel phylogenetic arrangement.[7] A right second metatarsal from a large-bodied ornithomimosaur weighing approximately 432 kg showed a "butterfly" fracture pattern from blunt force trauma.[8] A 2014 study by Yuong-Nam Lee and co-authors incorporated a large number of ornithomimosaurian taxa into their analysis.[9] Serrano-Brañas and colleagues published a cladogram in 2020 that presented an analysis aligning more closely with earlier classification ideas.[10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Choiniere, "New information on Nqwebasaurus thwazi, a coelurosaurian theropod from the Early Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation in South Africa", Journal of African Earth Sciences, 2012, p. 1–17; Cerroni, "The phylogenetic position of Afromimus tenerensis Sereno, 2017 and its paleobiogeographical implications", Journal of African Earth Sciences, 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Van Der Reest, "A densely feathered ornithomimid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta, Canada", Cretaceous Research, 2016, p. 108–117; Lee, "Resolving the long-standing enigmas of a giant ornithomimosaur Deinocheirus mirificus", Nature, 2014, p. 257–260 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Nicholls and Russell (1985). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Schmitz and Motani (2011) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Last of the Dinosaurs: The Cretaceous Period (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gilmore, "On the dinosaurian fauna of the Iren Dabasu Formation", Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 1933, p. 23−78 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hartman, "A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight", PeerJ, 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chinzorig, "Chronic fracture and osteomyelitis in a large-bodied ornithomimosaur with implications for the identification of unusual endosteal bone in the fossil record", The Anatomical Record, 4 October 2022, p. 1864–18 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lee, "Resolving the long-standing enigmas of a giant ornithomimosaur Deinocheirus mirificus", Nature, 2014, p. 257–260 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ornithomimosauria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Paraxenisaurus normalensis, a large deinocheirid ornithomimosaur from the Cerro del Pueblo Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Coahuila, Mexico", Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ornithomimosauria (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Cretaceous dinosaurs
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ornithomimosauria (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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