Struthiomimus
Struthiomimus altus
Struthiomimus (meaning "ostrich mimic", from the Ancient Greek στρούθειος/stroutheios, meaning "of the ostrich", and μῖμος/mimos, meaning "mimic" or "imitator") is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of what is now western North America. They were long-legged, bipedal, ostrich-like dinosaurs with toothless beaks. The type species, Struthiomimus altus, is one of the more common, smaller dinosaurs found in Dinosaur Provincial Park. Their overall abundance, in addition to their toothless beak, suggests that these animals were mainly herbivorous or (more likely) omnivorous, rather than purely carnivorous. Similar to the modern ostriches, emus, and rheas (among other birds), these dinosaurs likely lived as opportunistic omnivores, supplementing a largely plant-based diet with a variety of small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, invertebrates, and anything else they could fit into their mouth, as they foraged.
- Family
- Ornithomimidae
- Order
- Saurischia
- Period
- Cretaceous (76.5–75.5 Ma)
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Length
- 4.3 m
- Weight
- 150 kg
- Type locality
- Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta, Canada
- Holotype
- NMC 917
- PBDB
- txn:38545