Gallimimus: Dinosaur of the Day HD

Gallimimus: Dinosaur of the Day I Know Dino: The big dinosaur podcast. News, interviews, and discussions about dinosaurs. Are you a dinosaur enthusiast? Learn more at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino. You can also visit http://www.IknowDino.com for more information including a link to dinosaur sites near you. Gallimimus, whose name means “chicken mimic” First found in the Gobi Desert in August 1963 Gallimimus was named in 1972 by Halszka Osmólska, Ewa Roniewicz, and Rinchen Barsbold The name “mimus” comes from the fact that vertebral arch of its front neck looks similar to a Galliformes (Galliformes are an order of birds that feed on the ground, and include chickens, turkeys, and quails) Type species is Gallimimus bullatus Species name comes from Latin “bulla”, which one meaning refers to an amulet worn by ancient Roman boys as a protection against evil spirits. The Gallimimus bullatis is related because of the unusual capsule occurring in the base of it’s skull Holotype specimen has a partial skeleton (skull and lower jaws) Rinchen Barsbold almost named a second species of Gallimimus, called mongoliensis, but decided it was instead an unknown ornithomimid Lived in Mongolia; Late Cretaceous, 71-69 million years ago Found in Nemegt formation, which probably had diverse food, stream and river channels, mudflats, and shallow lakes Looked like big ostrich (with claws and tail) Similar to other dinosaurs: Pelicanmimus, Struthiomimus, Ornithomimus (pelican mimic, ostrich mimic, bird mimic) 26 feet long; 500 pounds, bipedal Had long legs, neck, and tail, and hollow bones Not sure how fast it could run (one source suggests 30 mph) Hollow bones to reduce weight, so less energy needed to run fast Lived on open arid plain, so easy to run Tail helped counterbalance and helped it make fast turns Had short arms, with three clawed fingers on each hand, and three clawed toes on each foot Had a small head, but a relatively large brain No teeth in its mouth Gallimimus may have had a beak like a modern duck, based on a discovery of by in 2001 Pete Mackavicky, from the Field Museum in Chicago (dinosaur had soft tissues in the skull, which showed traces of a beak along its jaw; the beak was probably composed of keratin); it also had a comb-like plate in the jaw, similar to the filter-feeding structure of a duck’s bill, which strains food from water and sediment According to Norwegian paleontologist Jørn Hurum, some of the bones in Gallimimus’s beak and lower jaw were very thin, only a fe millimeters Bottom of its beak was shaped like a shovel Rigid jaw, so could only really open and close mouth Not sure what it ate (small skull proportionately but long snout; may have used beak to pick up plants or small animals (lizards, snakes, mammals–but would have been hard to swallow, no teeth) Originally thought to have eaten small animals, but controversy over what it actually ate (omnivore or herbivore) May have used flexible arms to get fruit, catch and hold prey, and d