Page 117 - The Dinosaur Book and Other Wonders of the Prehistoric World (DK-Smithsonian)

SPEEDSTERS
Ornithomimus

Long-legged ornithomimosaurs could run
very fast. Recent studies show that their
The body was built for biggest enemies, tyrannosaurs, could run at
speed and agility, just 19 mph (30 kph), so ornithomimosaurs
like a modern ostrich. probably ran faster—maybe as fast as
Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt, who
reached 27 mph (44 kph) in 2009. Usain Bolt Ornithomimus

The three-fingered Ornithomimosaurs
hands were unusually long. The lightweight skull
supported a beak made
of keratin, just like the
beak of a modern bird.
Deinocheirus Anserimimus

Big eyes gave these animals
the good vision they needed
to watch out for danger.
Qiupalong
The big, blunt
claws were
probably used
for defense.

The feet
had specialized
The tail may have shock-absorbing bones
ended in a fan of long for coping with the
feathers, which would stresses of running.
have helped with
balance while running.

the water like ducks. But not all ornithomimosaurs 36 ft (11 m) long and had very long arms and
were toothless or ostrich-sized. Some of the hands. Relative to its body, it had shorter legs
early types had jaws studded with small teeth, than other ornithomimosaurs, so it probably
and some of the later ones like Beishanlong relied on its size and big defensive claws to
were big, powerful animals. The biggest found discourage the powerful predators of its time
so far was Deinocheirus, a giant that grew to and make them look for softer targets. 115

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