Aepyornithomimus

Aepyornis mimic

• Aepyornis · Greek (genus name) · 'high bird', the giant extinct elephant bird of Madagascar
• mimos · Greek · mimic

The name combines Aepyornis, the genus of giant flightless elephant birds from Madagascar, with the Greek "mimos" (mimic), the suffix used for ornithomimosaurs ("bird mimics"). It refers to this dinosaur's bird-like build, with an Aepyornis-like comparison. Its type species is A. tugrikinensis, named after the Tugrikin Shire locality.

Named by

Tsogtbaatar et al.

Year named

2019

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Djadochta Formation, Tugrikin Shire, Gobi Desert, Mongolia

An ornithomimosaur theropod (a "bird-mimic" dinosaur). The etymology's exact rationale (why Aepyornis was chosen) is from memory and is not fully verified.