The name “ostrich dinosaur” has been given to a group of creatures that lived during the late Cretaceous period (110-66 million years ago), in what is now North America and Asia. The proper name for the group is Ornithomimosaurs. They acquired their popular name because of their resemblance to modern ostriches in their size and overall shape.
They were tall and slim with powerful hind legs that would
have allowed them to run fast. The front limbs worked like arms with fingers
and sharp claws that could grasp their food. They had beak-like toothless
mouths that would also have made them look like modern flightless birds.
One ostrich dinosaur was Struthiomimus which would have been
four metres long and two metres tall. Fossils have been found in Alberta,
Canada. Others were Gallimimus (8 metres long), Dromiceiomimus (3-4 metres) and
Ornithomimus (4-5 metres, see picture) which could probably run at up to fifty
miles an hour.
This class of dinosaurs would have eaten seeds and fruits,
plus worms, lizards and other small animals.
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