Ornithomimus

Name: Ornithomimus ‭(‬Bird mimic‭). Phonetic: Or-nif-oh-mime-us. Named By: Othniel Charles Marsh‭ ‬-‭ ‬1890. Synonyms: Dromiceiomimus. Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Ornithomimidae,‭ ‬Ornithomiminae. Species: O.‭ ‬velox‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬O.‭ ‬edmontonicus.‭ ‬Many other species have been named in the past,‭ ‬but most of these are considered dubious and/or have been assigned to other existing species and genera. Diet: Possible omnivore. Size: Exact size depends upon the species in question.‭ Larger individuals approximately 3.8 meters long. Known locations: USA and Canada. Time period: Campanian to Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous. Fossil representation: Many individuals,‭ ‬but often incomplete.

Named in‭ ‬1890‭ ‬from a partial hand and foot,‭ ‬Ornithomimus became the first known ornithomimid,‭ ‬which is why it is considered the type genus of the Ornithomimidae.‭ ‬The ornithomimds‭ (‬also sometimes called‭ '‬ostrich dinosaurs‭’) ‬were small dinosaurs that usually ranged between three and four meters long,‭ ‬although some were slightly larger.‭ ‬During the late Cretaceous ornithomimds seem to have been particularly widespread across North America and Asia where they relied upon speed for survival in habitats that were dominated by tyrannosaurs,‭ ‬and shared with horned and armoured dinosaurs like ceratopsians and ankylosaurs. Amongst the dinosaurs Ornithomimus has one of the most complicated taxonomic histories that continue to cause much confusion amongst researchers.‭ ‬In a nut shell,‭ ‬because it was one of the first ornithomimds discovered,‭ ‬Ornithomimus along with  Struthiomimus  were effectively used as wastebasket taxons where any remains remotely resembling the earlier material were almost automatically attributed to one of these genera as a new species.‭ ‬This also happened for the first two dinosaur genera ever named,‭  ‬Megalosaurus  and  Iguanodon ,‭ ‬although perhaps a better analogy would come from the pterosaurs  Pterodactylus  and  Rhamphorhynchus .‭ ‬Both of these genera once had an incredible number of species attributed to them,‭ ‬just for most of them to be found to be the same as the type species or actually different genera completely.