Dromiceiomimus

Last updated

Dromiceiomimus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 73.5–68.5  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
DromiceiomimusSkull.JPG
Skull cast
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Ornithomimosauria
Family: Ornithomimidae
Genus: Dromiceiomimus
Russell, 1972
Species:
D. brevitertius
Binomial name
Dromiceiomimus brevitertius
Russell, 1972
Synonyms

Dromiceiomimus is a genus of ornithomimid theropod from the Late Cretaceous (early Maastrichtian) of Alberta, Canada. The type species, D. brevitertius, is considered a synonym of Ornithomimus edmontonicus by some authors, while others consider it a distinct and valid taxon. It was a small ornithomimid that weighed about 135 kilograms (298 lb). [1]

Taxonomy

Skeleton at Canadian Museum of Nature Ornithomimid.jpg
Skeleton at Canadian Museum of Nature
Size comparison of UALVP 16182 Dromiceiomimus Scale.svg
Size comparison of UALVP 16182

The type species, D. brevitertius was originally described as a species of Struthiomimus by William Parks in 1926 on the basis of a partial postcranium, ROM 797, from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, Canada. [2]

In his review of Canadian ornithomimids, Dale Russell made S. brevitertius the type species of a new genus, Dromiceiomimus, meaning "emu mimic" from the old generic name for the emu, Dromiceius. Russell also synonymized Struthiomimus ingens with Dromiceimimus brevitertius. He renamed Ornithomimus samueli into a second Dromiceiomimus species: Dromiceiomimus samueli. Dromiceiomimus was distinguished from Ornithomimus edmontonicus on the basis of the following characters: humerus shorter than scapula; ulna ~70% of femoral length; preacetabular process, tibia, metatarsus and pedal digit III longer compared to femur. [3]

In a 1981 publication, however, Nicholls and Russell cast doubt on the validity of Dromiceiomimus and though keeping it distinct from Ornithomimus argued that the limb proportions might be insufficient to distinguish ornithomimid taxa from each other. [4] In the second edition of the Dinosauria, Makovicky et al. claimed that there is no statistical support for the distinction of Dromiceiomimus from Ornithomimus, and synonymized it with Ornithomimus edmontonicus Sternberg 1933. [5]

However, a few authors continued to treat Dromiceiomimus as valid, and Longrich (2008, 2014) treated ROM 840 (holotype of Struthiomimus samueli) as a distinct species of ornithomimid related to Ornithomimus. [6] [7] [8] [9]

In 2018, Ian McDonald and Philip John Currie rejected the conclusions by Makovicky and colleagues. They showed that the thighbone/shinbone ratio of specimen UALVP 16182, found in 1967 by Richard Fox and referred to Dromiceiomimus, differed significantly from that of Ornithomimus edmontonicus. They also pointed out that if both species were to be considered synonymous nevertheless, the specific name brevitertius would have priority. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Gallimimus</i> Ornithomimid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous Period

Gallimimus is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous period, about seventy million years ago (mya). Several fossils in various stages of growth were discovered by Polish-Mongolian expeditions in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia during the 1960s; a large skeleton discovered in this region was made the holotype specimen of the new genus and species Gallimimus bullatus in 1972. The generic name means "chicken mimic", referring to the similarities between its neck vertebrae and those of the Galliformes. The specific name is derived from bulla, a golden capsule worn by Roman youth, in reference to a bulbous structure at the base of the skull of Gallimimus. At the time it was named, the fossils of Gallimimus represented the most complete and best preserved ornithomimid material yet discovered, and the genus remains one of the best known members of the group.

<i>Anserimimus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Anserimimus is a genus of ornithomimid theropod dinosaur, from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now Mongolia. It was a lanky, fast-running animal, possibly an omnivore. From what fossils are known, it probably closely resembled other ornithomimids, except for its more powerful forelimbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithomimosauria</span> Extinct clade of theropod dinosaurs

Ornithomimosauria are theropod dinosaurs which bore a superficial resemblance to the modern-day ostrich. They were fast, omnivorous or herbivorous dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period of Laurasia, as well as Africa and possibly Australia. The group first appeared in the Early Cretaceous and persisted until the Late Cretaceous. Primitive members of the group include Nqwebasaurus, Pelecanimimus, Shenzhousaurus, Hexing and Deinocheirus, the arms of which reached 2.4 m (8 feet) in length. More advanced species, members of the family Ornithomimidae, include Gallimimus, Struthiomimus, and Ornithomimus. Some paleontologists, like Paul Sereno, consider the enigmatic alvarezsaurids to be close relatives of the ornithomimosaurs and place them together in the superfamily Ornithomimoidea.

<i>Struthiomimus</i> Extinct genus of reptile

Struthiomimus, meaning "ostrich-mimic", is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous of North America. Ornithomimids were long-legged, bipedal, ostrich-like dinosaurs with toothless beaks. The type species, Struthiomimus altus, is one of the more common, smaller dinosaurs found in Dinosaur Provincial Park; their overall abundance—in addition to their toothless beak—suggests that these animals were mainly herbivorous or omnivorous, rather than purely carnivorous, if at all. Similar to the modern extant ostriches, emus, and rheas, ornithomimid dinosaurs likely lived as opportunistic omnivores, supplementing a largely plant-based diet with a variety of small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, invertebrates, and anything else they could fit into their mouth, as they foraged.

<i>Ornithomimus</i> Ornithomimid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous Period

Ornithomimus is a genus of ornithomimid theropod dinosaurs from the Campanian and Maastrichtian ages of Late Cretaceous Western North America. Ornithomimus was a swift, bipedal dinosaur which fossil evidence indicates was covered in feathers and equipped with a small toothless beak that may indicate an omnivorous diet. It is usually classified into two species: the type species, Ornithomimus velox, and a referred species, Ornithomimus edmontonicus. O. velox was named in 1890 by Othniel Charles Marsh on the basis of a foot and partial hand from the Denver Formation of Colorado. Another seventeen species have been named since then, though almost all of them have been subsequently assigned to new genera or shown to be not directly related to Ornithomimus velox. The best material of species still considered part of the genus has been found in Alberta, representing the species O. edmontonicus, known from several skeletons from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Additional species and specimens from other formations are sometimes classified as Ornithomimus, such as Ornithomimus samueli from the earlier Dinosaur Park Formation.

<i>Garudimimus</i> Ornithomimosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous

Garudimimus is a genus of ornithomimosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous. The genus is known from a single specimen found in 1981 by a Soviet-Mongolian paleontological expedition in the Bayan Shireh Formation and formally described in the same year by Rinchen Barsbold; the only species is Garudimimus brevipes. Several interpretations about the anatomical traits of Garudimimus were made in posterior examinations of the specimen, but most of them were criticized during its comprehensive redescription in 2005. Extensive undescribed ornithomimosaur remains at the type locality of Garudimimus may represent additional specimens of the genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip J. Currie</span> Canadian paleontologist and curator

Philip John Currie is a Canadian palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In the 1980s, he became the director of the Canada-China Dinosaur Project, the first cooperative palaeontological partnering between China and the West since the Central Asiatic Expeditions in the 1920s, and helped describe some of the first feathered dinosaurs. He is one of the primary editors of the influential Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs, and his areas of expertise include theropods, the origin of birds, and dinosaurian migration patterns and herding behavior. He was one of the models for palaeontologist Alan Grant in the film Jurassic Park.

<i>Anchiceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Anchiceratops is an extinct genus of chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that lived approximately 72 to 71 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Alberta, Canada. Anchiceratops was a medium-sized, heavily built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore that could grow up to an estimated 4.3 metres (14 ft) long. Its skull featured two long brow horns and a short horn on the nose. The skull frill was elongated and rectangular, its edges adorned by coarse triangular projections. About a dozen skulls of the genus have been found.

<i>Archaeornithomimus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Archaeornithomimus is a genus of ornithomimosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, around 96 million years ago in the Iren Dabasu Formation.

<i>Chirostenotes</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Chirostenotes is a genus of oviraptorosaurian dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. The type species is Chirostenotes pergracilis.

<i>Montanoceratops</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Montanoceratops is an extinct genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 70 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Montana and Alberta. Montanoceratops was a small sized, moderately-built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore, that could grow up to an estimated 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length and 170 kg (370 lb) in body mass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornithomimidae</span> Group of theropod dinosaurs

Ornithomimidae is a family of theropod dinosaurs which bore a superficial resemblance to modern ostriches. Ornithomimids were fast, omnivorous or herbivorous dinosaurs known mainly from the Late Cretaceous Period of Laurasia, though they have also been reported from the Lower Cretaceous Wonthaggi Formation of Australia.

<i>Elmisaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Elmisaurus is an extinct genus of caenagnathid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. It was a theropod belonging to the Oviraptorosauria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horseshoe Canyon Formation</span> Geological formation in Canada

The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta. It takes its name from Horseshoe Canyon, an area of badlands near Drumheller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caenagnathidae</span> Extinct family of dinosaurs

Caenagnathidae is a family of derived caenagnathoid dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of North America and Asia. They are a member of the Oviraptorosauria, and relatives of the Oviraptoridae. Like other oviraptorosaurs, caenagnathids had specialized beaks, long necks, and short tails, and would have been covered in feathers. The relationships of caenagnathids were long a puzzle. The family was originally named by Raymond Martin Sternberg in 1940 as a family of flightless birds. The discovery of skeletons of the related oviraptorids revealed that they were in fact non-avian theropods, and the discovery of more complete caenagnathid remains revealed that Chirostenotes pergracilis, originally named on the basis of a pair of hands, and Citipes elegans, originally thought to be an ornithomimid, named from a foot, were caenagnathids as well.

<i>Acheroraptor</i> Dromaeosaurid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous

Acheroraptor is an extinct genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur known from the latest Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation of Montana, United States. It contains a single species, Acheroraptor temertyorum. A. temertyorum is one of the two geologically youngest known species of dromaeosaurids, the other being Dakotaraptor, which is also known from Hell Creek. A basal cousin of Velociraptor, Acheroraptor is known from upper and lower jaw material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of oviraptorosaur research</span>

This timeline of oviraptorosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the oviraptorosaurs, a group of beaked, bird-like theropod dinosaurs. The early history of oviraptorosaur paleontology is characterized by taxonomic confusion due to the unusual characteristics of these dinosaurs. When initially described in 1924 Oviraptor itself was thought to be a member of the Ornithomimidae, popularly known as the "ostrich" dinosaurs, because both taxa share toothless beaks. Early caenagnathid oviraptorosaur discoveries like Caenagnathus itself were also incorrectly classified at the time, having been misidentified as birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of ornithomimosaur research</span>

This timeline of ornithomimosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ornithomimosaurs, a group of bird-like theropods popularly known as the ostrich dinosaurs. Although fragmentary, probable, ornithomimosaur fossils had been described as far back as the 1860s, the first ornithomimosaur to be recognized as belonging to a new family distinct from other theropods was Ornithomimus velox, described by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1890. Thus the ornithomimid ornithomimosaurs were one of the first major Mesozoic theropod groups to be recognized in the fossil record. The description of a second ornithomimosaur genus did not happen until nearly 30 years later, when Henry Fairfield Osborn described Struthiomimus in 1917. Later in the 20th century, significant ornithomimosaur discoveries began occurring in Asia. The first was a bonebed of "Ornithomimus" asiaticus found at Iren Debasu. More Asian discoveries took place even later in the 20th century, including the disembodied arms of Deinocheirus mirificus and the new genus Gallimimus bullatus. The formal naming of the Ornithomimosauria itself was performed by Rinchen Barsbold in 1976.

<i>Rativates</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Rativates is a genus of ornithomimid theropod dinosaur from the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta. The type species is Rativates evadens.

<i>Citipes</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Citipes is an extinct genus of caenagnathid theropod from the Late Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada. The genus contains only one species, the type species, C. elegans. The generic name of Citipes is Latin for "fleet-footed", and the specific epithet "elegans" is Latin for "elegant". The type specimen of Citipes has a convoluted taxonomic history, and has been previously assigned to the genera Ornithomimus, Macrophalangia, Elmisaurus, Chirostenotes, and Leptorhynchos before being given its own genus in 2020.

References

  1. Chinzorig, Tsogtbaatar; Cullen, Thomas; Phillips, George; Rolke, Richard; Zanno, Lindsay E. (2022-10-19). "Large-bodied ornithomimosaurs inhabited Appalachia during the Late Cretaceous of North America". PLOS One. 17 (10). e0266648. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266648 . PMC   9581415 .
  2. Parks, 1926. Struthiomimus brevetertius - A new species of dinosaur from the Edmonton Formation of Alberta. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, series 3. 20(4), 65-70.
  3. Russell, D. (1972). "Ostrich dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of western Canada." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 9: 375-402.
  4. Nicholls and Russell, 1981. A new specimen of Struthiomimus altus from Alberta, with comments on the classificatory characters of Upper Cretaceous ornithomimids. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 18, 518-526.
  5. Makovicky, Kobayashi and Currie, 2004. Ornithomimosauria. In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska (eds). The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 137-150.
  6. P. J. Currie. 2005. History of research. In P. J. Currie and E. B. Koppelhus (eds.), Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed. Indiana University Press, Bloomington 3-33
  7. Y. Kobayashi and R. Barsbold. 2006. Ornithomimids from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Journal of the Paleontological Society of Korea 22(1):195-207
  8. Longrich, 2008. A new, large ornithomimid from the Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada: Implications for the study of dissociated dinosaur remains. Palaeontology. 51(4), 983-997.
  9. Longrich, N. R. (2014). "The horned dinosaurs Pentaceratops and Kosmoceratops from the upper Campanian of Alberta and implications for dinosaur biogeography". Cretaceous Research 51: 292. doi : 10.1016/j.cretres.2014.06.011.
  10. Ian Macdonald & Philip J. Currie, 2018, "Description of a partial Dromiceiomimus (Dinosauria: Theropoda) skeleton with comments on the validity of the genus", Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences doi : 10.1139/cjes-2018-0162