Dino card No. 0540 of 2,015

Dromiceiomimus

Say it: dro-MI-see-oh-me-muss

Name means: “emu mimic”1

Ate: A bit of everythingOstrich dinosLate Cretaceous

Dromiceiomimus was a fast, ostrich-like dinosaur that ran on two long legs. It lived in what is now Canada during the Late Cretaceous period, about 74 to 70 million years ago.1 2

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Alberta, Canada2 3

Food

A bit of everything1 3

Length

3.5 m1

Weight

100 kg to 135 kg1 2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Dromiceiomimus looked a lot like a modern ostrich, but it probably had fewer feathers.1

Its name means 'emu mimic' because it was named after the emu, a large flightless bird.2

Some scientists think Dromiceiomimus might actually be the same dinosaur as Ornithomimus edmontonicus, but others disagree.2

The first fossils of Dromiceiomimus were found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation in Alberta, Canada.2 3

It was a small ornithomimid, weighing about 100 to 135 kilograms (220 to 298 pounds).1 2

Dromiceiomimus had a horny beak instead of teeth, which it used to eat plants and maybe small animals.1

AI-made picture of Dromiceiomimus — An AI-made picture of how Dromiceiomimus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Dromiceiomimus
Named by: Russell 19723
Group: Ostrich dinos
Family / clade: Ornithomimidae3
Classification: Theropoda > Ornithomimosauria3
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Horseshoe Canyon3
Countries: Canada3
Fossil records: 5 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The first fossils were described by William Parks in 1926 as a species of Struthiomimus. In 1972, Dale Russell gave it its own genus, Dromiceiomimus, meaning 'emu mimic'.2
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Dromiceiomimus is a distinct dinosaur or just another name for Ornithomimus edmontonicus.2

Where the facts come from

Dromiceiomimus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Dromiceiomimus (en.wikipedia.org)
Dromiceiomimus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.