Ornithomimus

bird mimic

• ornithos · Greek · bird
• mimos · Greek · mimic

The name means "bird mimic" and comes from the Greek words for "bird" and "mimic". Marsh chose it because the animal's slender build, long legs and long neck, and its toothless beak, looked bird-like, especially like a running bird such as an ostrich or emu. The type species is Ornithomimus velox ("swift").

Named by

Marsh

Year named

1890

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stages

Campanian – Maastrichtian

Found in

Denver Formation, Colorado, USA (type species O. velox); Dinosaur Park and Horseshoe Canyon formations, Alberta, Canada (O. edmontonicus)

An ornithomimid theropod (an "ostrich dinosaur"). The type species O. velox is based on fragmentary material from the Denver Formation. Other species, such as O. edmontonicus from Alberta, are better known and include fossils with feather impressions.