Harpymimus

harpy mimic

• Harpy · Greek (mythology) · harpy, a winged mythical creature
• mimos · Greek · mimic

The name combines "harpy", the winged creature of Greek mythology, with the Greek word for "mimic". It marks this dinosaur as a "harpy mimic", an early ornithomimosaur (an "ostrich-mimic" type of theropod). The type species, H. okladnikovi, honours the archaeologist Alexei Okladnikov.

Named by

Barsbold and Perle

Year named

1984

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stages

Aptian – Albian

Found in

Khukhtekskaya (Hühteeg) Svita, Dornogovi Province, Mongolia

A valid genus of basal ornithomimosaur theropod. Unlike later ornithomimids, it still had small teeth in the front of its lower jaw. The exact stage range is given with some uncertainty, and I have not stated why the name refers to a harpy.