Quick Facts
Name Meaning:	Bird Mimic
Distribution:	North America, Mongolia
Time Period:	Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma
Length:	15 ft (4.5 m)
Weight:	300 lbs (135 K)
Diet:	Omnivore
Linnaean Classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Family:	Ornithomimidae
Genus:	Ornithomimus
Cladistic Classification
Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Tetanurae Avetheropoda Coelurosauria Tyrannoraptora Maniraptoriformes Ornithomimosauria Ornithomimidae Ornithomimus

Ornithomimus dinosaur track.

Description

The Ornithomimus was first discovered in 1889 in Denver Colorado, and named one year later by Othniel C. Marsh. It appears very similar to an ostrich except for its long tail. Like the ostrich it was very smart and fast. It had a toothless, horny beak which it used to feed on both plants and small animals like insects. It had a long tail to act as a counterbalance and hollow bones making it lightweight. It had a long neck ending in a very bird-like skull. On each hand it had three clawed fingers, as well as three similar clawed toes on each foot. The dinosaur has made several appearances in pop-culture including the television series Prehistoric Park and films like Fantasia, and Planet of Dinosaurs.