Ornithomimus

“parrot lizard”

CLASSIFICATION

Ornithomimus Marsh, 1890 TYPE SPECIES: O. velox Marsh, 1890 – “speedy bird mimic” OTHER SPECIES: O. antiquus (Leidy, 1865) [nomen dubium] (originally “Coelosaurus”) – “antique bird mimic” O. edmontonicus C. M. Sternberg, 1933 – “Edmonton Group bird mimic” O. lonzeensis (Dollo, 1903) [nomen dubium] (originally Megalosaurus) O. sedens Marsh, 1892 [nomen dubium?] MISASSIGNED SPECIES: “O.” affinis Gilmore, 1920 [nomen dubium] » Neotheropoda incertae sedis O. altus Lambe, 1902 = Struthiomimus altus O. angustus C. M. Sternberg & von Huene, 1929 == O. edmontonicus O. asiaticus Gilmore, 1933 = Archaeornithomimus asiaticus O. brevitertius (Parks, 1926) (originally Struthiomimus) = Dromiceiomimus brevitertius O. bullatus (Osmólska, Roniewicz & Barsbold, 1972) (originally Gallimimus) = Gallimimus bullatus O. currelli (Parks, 1933) (originally Struthiomimus) == Ornithomimus edmontonicus O. edmontonensis Barsbold & Osmólska, 1990 – “bird mimic from the Edmonton Group” == O. edmontonicus O. elegans Parks, 1933 = Elmisaurus elegans O. grandis Marsh, 1890 [nomen dubium] = Albertosaurus grandis O. ingens (Parks, 1933) (originally Struthiomimus) == Dromiceiomimus brevitertius “O.” minutus Marsh, 1892 – “minute bird mimic” » Mononykinae O. samueli (Parks, 1928) (originally Struthiomimus) = Dromiceiomimus samueli O. tenuis Marsh, 1890 [nomen dubium] == Troodon formosus “O.” sp. » Maniraptoriformes incertae sedis Taxonomic Classification:

Animalia Vertebrata Tetrapoda Sauropsida Archosauromorpha Ornithodira Dinosauria Theropoda Tetanurae Coelurosauria Ornithomimosauria

see also: Genus Index, Classification

---

MEASUREMENTS

LENGTH: 2.5 m to 3 m “O.” minutus: ?1 m

MASS: O. velox: ?175 kg “O.” affinis: ?125 kg O. edmontonicus: 100 kg to 170 kg

see also: World Records

---

TIME

late Campanian to late Maastrichtian

• “O.” affinis: Hauterivian to Barremian
• “O.” minutus: Late Cretaceous
• “O.” sp.: Aptian to Albian

see also: Ages of the Mesozoic

---

PLACE

• O. velox: Colorado, Utah
• “O.” affinis: New Jersey
• O. edmontonicus: Alberta
• “O.” minutus: U.S.A.
• “O.” sp.: U.S.A.

see also: Paleo-Maps

---

REMAINS

• O.velox
  • postcrania
• “O.” affinis
  • fragments including toe claws
• O.edmontonicus
  • 1 skeleton, 2 fragmentary postcrania
• O.lonzeensis
  • pedal ungual
• “O.” minutus
  • partial metatarsus
• O.sedens
  • sacrum, fragmentary ilium
• O.tenuis
  • fragmentary metatarsal

see also: Anatomy

---

ESSAY

The archetypical “ostrich mimic“. “Ornithomimus” affinis was originally placed in Ornithomimus (and then Archaeornithomimus) because of ornithomimid-like toe claws, but the material is too indeterminate to assign confidently to any known theropod genus.

---

IMAGES

Click on thumbnail to see full image.

---

---

---