Gallimimus bullatus

Gallimimus bullatus (chicken mimic)

Kingdom- Animalia
Phylum- Chordata
Class- Archosauria
Order- Saurischia
Suborder- Theropoda
Superfamily-Ornithomimoidea
Family- Ornithamimidae

Diet: Omnivore

Height: 6.5 feet

Length: 26 feet

Weight: 500 pounds

Time of Habitation: Late Cretaceous Period

Place of Habitation: Mongolia




The first Gallimimus fossils were found in the Mongolian Gobi Dessert in August 1963 by a Professor Zofia Kielon-Jaworowska. She reported it two years later in 1965. It was not named or described until 1972 by paleontologist Rinchen Barsbold.

The ostrich-like Gallimimus had a long neck, tail and legs. It had a small head with large eyes and a beak that held no teeth. The Gallimimus did not have binocular vision like modern day birds due to it's eyes being located on the sides of the head.

The diet of Gallimimus caused controversy for a while. Some say that it used it's arms to rake away ground cover to expose small animals. In 2001 a Gallimimus specimen with soft tissue preservation was found. This specimen along with another fossilized skull had a keratinous beak  possessing vertical grooves projected from the upper mandible. These grooves are similar to the lamelle found in ducks. Ducks use these lamelle to filter through the water for small edible items.

It was later noted that strictly herbivorous turtles posses ridges on the inner surface of the beak similar to the grooves that Gallimimus possessed. Calculations of the amount of energy that could possibly be attained by filter feeding versus the possible amount of energy needed by a Gallimimus lead some to conclude that the Galimimus was more than likely an herbivore. However
more evidenve has been found that shows that Galimimus was an omnivore that fed of plants, eggs, insects and lizards.

The Gallimimus had a large brain based on mass and proportion meaning it was possibly very intelligent. It had large eyes meaning it might have been nocturnal. The Gallimimus was more than likely a very good runner possibly reaching speeds of up to 43 mph, the same as an ostrich's top speed! I hope you enjoyed meeting the prehistoric ostrich!






Sources:
Wikipidia
Wikia Dinopedia