Portal:Paleontology/Natural world articles/88

Deinocheirus is a genus of large ornithomimosaur (ostrich dinosaur) that lived during the Late Cretaceous around 70 million years ago. In 1965, a pair of large arms, shoulder girdles, and a few other bones of a new dinosaur were first discovered in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. In 1970, this specimen became the holotype of the only species within the genus, Deinocheirus mirificus. No further remains were discovered for almost fifty years, and its nature remained a mystery. Two more complete specimens were described in 2014, which shed light on many aspects of the animal.

Deinocheirus was largest ornithomimosaur at 11 m long, and weighing 6.36 tonnes. The arms were among the largest of any bipedal dinosaurs at 2.4 m long, with large, blunt claws on its three-fingered hands. The legs were relatively short, and bore blunt claws. Its vertebrae had tall neural spines that formed a "sail" along its back. The tail ended in pygostyle-like vertebrae, which indicate the presence of a fan of feathers. The skull was 1.024 m long, with a wide bill and a deep lower jaw, similar to those of hadrosaurs. Members of this group were not adapted for speed, unlike other ornithomimosaurs. Deinocheirus is thought to have been omnivorous; its skull shape indicate a diet of plants, whereas fish scales were found in association with a specimen. (see more...)