Dinosaurs / Cretaceous / Gallimimus
Gallimimus
Cretaceous GAL-ih-MY-mus, “chicken mimic”
Gallimimus was a large, fleet-footed ornithomimid theropod that lived in what is now the Gobi Desert of Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous epoch. Known from multiple exceptionally preserved skeletons ranging from juveniles to adults, it reached lengths of up to six metres, making it far larger than its North American relatives. Gallimimus walked purely on two slender hind limbs, balancing its long neck and toothless skull with a stiffened tail. Its beak bore delicate ridges that led some palaeontologists to suggest filter-feeding habits in shallow waters, though most researchers now view it as a generalist omnivore that consumed plants, small invertebrates, and seeds. Famous worldwide for its portrayal in popular media fleeing across open plains, the real dinosaur was an adaptable and dominant inhabitant of the lush river basin ecosystems preserved in the Nemegt Formation.
It is the largest known member of the slender-limbed ornithomimid family.
Where and when
Gallimimus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 71 to 68 million years ago (Maastrichtian age). Its remains come from Mongolia, in the Nemegt Formation.
The numbers
Length 5.8 m (estimates run from 5.5 to 6 m). Mass about 420 kg. Hip height about 2 m. That is 3.4 human-lengths, or 0.52 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.