Avimimus
AY-vih-MY-mus
"bird mimic"
Type species Avimimus portentosus
- Lived
- 84 to 66 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Length
- about 1.5 m (5 ft)
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- Mongolia and Canada
- Named by
- Kurzanov 1981
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical theropod shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
75 million years ago
Habitat
It inhabited river landscapes in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Other dinosaurs from these rocks include Gallimimus, Tarchia and Tarbosaurus.
Field notes
About Avimimus
What it was like
Avimimus was a small, bird-like dinosaur about 1.5 meters (5 feet) long. It had long legs for running, a short beak-like snout with a few tiny teeth and feathered arms. It belonged to the oviraptorosaurs and probably ate a mix of plants and small animals.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia. Its bones come from the Nemegt and Baruungoyot formations, and it shared these lands with the ostrich-like Gallimimus and the armored Tarchia. Bones from Alberta, Canada have also been linked to it.
How it was found
Kurzanov named Avimimus in 1981. The type species is Avimimus portentosus. A bonebed in the Nemegt Formation holds several individuals together, which suggests that it may have lived in groups.
Field gallery
More views of Avimimus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Avimimus.
The evidence
The science behind Avimimus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Skeletons preserve long hind legs and fused wrist and ankle bones.
- Skull bones show extensive fusion around the braincase and a short snout.
- A bonebed holds the remains of several individuals together.
Borrowed from relatives
- A feathered covering follows comparison with oviraptorosaur relatives such as Caudipteryx.
Still unknown
- Its feather colors and the full shape of its plumage.
- Which foods made up most of its diet.
- What brought the animals in the bonebed together.
Discovery timeline
- 1981Named itKurzanov
- 2016Fossil sitesFunston et al.
- 2017SkullTsuihiji et al.
- 2018New findFunston et al.
- 2019Growing upFunston et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Avimimus
Named it
Introduced Avimimus, a small theropod from Mongolia with a striking mix of bird-like skeletal features.
O neobuchnykh teropodakh iz verkhnego mela MNR [An unusual theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia]. Fossil Reptiles of Mongolia. Sovmestnaya Sovetsko-Mongol'skaya Paleontologicheskaya Ekspeditsiya, Trudy [The Joint Soviet-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition, Transactions] 24: 39-50
No link available
Fossil sites
Described an Avimimus bonebed and proposed that these animals gathered in groups.
The first oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) bonebed: evidence of gregarious behaviour in a maniraptoran theropod. Scientific Reports 6
Read the paper : The first oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) bonebed: evidence of gregarious behaviour in a maniraptoran theropod (opens in a new tab)Skull
New skull bones supported placing Avimimus among oviraptorosaurs and clarified which features resembled those of birds.
New information on the cranial morphology of Avimimus (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 37: e1347177
Read the paper : New information on the cranial morphology of Avimimus (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria) (opens in a new tab)New find
Named another Avimimus species and linked avimimids with wetter habitats in the Nemegt Formation.
Oviraptorosaur anatomy, diversity and ecology in the Nemegt Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 494: 101-120
Read the paper : Oviraptorosaur anatomy, diversity and ecology in the Nemegt Basin (opens in a new tab)Growing up
Bone tissue from related avimimids revealed rapid growth and mixed-age groups, suggesting that some Avimimus bonebed individuals were younger than first thought.
Birdlike growth and mixed-age flocks in avimimids (Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria). Scientific Reports 9
Read the paper : Birdlike growth and mixed-age flocks in avimimids (Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria) (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Oviraptorosauria
Sources: Wikidata