Ornitholestes

Ornitholestes was a meat-eating coelurosaur dinosaur that lived around 155 million years ago which is towards the end of the Jurassic period. This was about the time that the first birds were appearing, having evolved from reptiles, and the name Ornitholestes means “bird robber” because it was originally supposed that the animal preyed on early birds and their nests. However, this is unlikely given that birds were evolving in what is now Europe and the very rare fossils of Ornitholoestes have only been found in what is now the state of Wyoming.

Ornitholestes was no great size, being only about two metres (six feet) from nose to tip of tail. It would therefore have relied on its speed for catching its prey and escaping from larger predators. It may also have developed keen senses of sight and smell for the same purposes.

Ornitholestes had small sharp teeth and strong arms that ended in long claws. These suggest that the animal might have preyed on the young of other dinosaur species, possibly grabbing them as they hatched from their eggs and making off at speed when the parents realised what was happening. The “robber” part of the name was therefore quite likely to have been appropriate, although the eggs and young being attacked were not those of birds!

© John Welford