Churning Facts Of Struthiomimus
Late Cretaceous ostrich-like dinosaurs called Struthiomimus have been discovered in North America as fossils. About 2.5 meters long, Struthiomimus was clearly built for quick movement on powerful, well-developed hind limbs. In particular, the three-toed feet resembled birds because they had extraordinarily long metatarsals that, like those of birds, did not touch the ground. The cranium of Struthiomimus was small, toothless, and perched atop a thin, extremely flexible neck; the jaws were likely protected by a somewhat avian-like horny beak. The three-fingered hands at the ends of the long, thin forelimbs had sharp claws that were specialized for grabbing. The fact that all three fingers on the hand are almost the same length, as they are in all theropod members of the Ornithomimid subgroup, is diagnostic. Description Struthiomimus The dimensions and anatomical characteristics of Struthiomimus were different from those of closely related genera like Ornithomimus and Gallimimus. The...