Dromiceiomimus Characteristics

Dromiceiomimus measured about 12 feet (3.6 metres) long and weighed about 100 to 150 kilograms (220 to 330 pounds). Its femur (thigh bone) was 46.8 centimetres (18.4 inches) long and its tibia was 20% longer than the femur, indicating that this dinosaur was a rapid sprinter. Dromiceiomimus may have capable of hitting speeds of 45 or 50 miles per hour, though it probably only ran this fast when it was being pursued by predators.

This ornithomimid (a bird-like theropod) had very long limbs, hollow bones and large eyes and brain. The brains of ornithomimids were large for dinosaurs. Dromiceiomimus had a toothless, beaked mouth and weak jaws. Compared to other ornithomimosaurs it had a short back, long slender forearms, very large eye sockets and differently arranged pelvic bones. The large eye sockets suggest a keen visual sense and also suggest the possibility that they were nocturnal.

Dromiceiomimus may have eaten insects, eggs and small animals dug from nests. Canadian palaeontologist Dale Russell has suggested that these dinosaurs were entirely carnivorous, however, this view is still debated as their body shape would also have been suited for a partly herbivorous lifestyle and it also ate fruit and vegetation. This would make the Dromiceiomimus an omnivore.

The first fossil remains of this genus were discovered in the 1920s, and originally named Struthiomimus brevitertius and S. samueli. It was renamed by Russell in 1972 to D. brevitertius after an extensive review of North American

ornithomimosaurs, which he reclassified into three genera: Dromiceiomimus, Ornithomimus, and Struthiomimus. Alberta, Canadas Horseshoe Canyon and Judith River Formations have yielded fossils of both mature and young Dromiceiomimus.

Dromiceiomimus was first discovered and named in 1924, in Alberta, Canada.