Pelecanimimus
"pelican mimic"
- Lived
- 126 to 121 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Length
- about 2.5 m (8 ft)
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- Spain
- Named by
- Pérez-Moreno et al. 1994
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical theropod shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
125 million years ago
Habitat
It lived around shallow freshwater lakes and wetlands in what is now Spain, with aquatic plants and mats of microbes. Iberomesornis, a small bird, and Concavenator were among its neighbors.
Field notes
About Pelecanimimus
What it was like
Pelecanimimus was an early ornithomimosaur about 2.5 meters (8 feet) long. Unlike its toothless later relatives, it had many tiny teeth, more than any other known theropod. It also had a soft crest on its head and a pouch of skin under its throat.
Its world
It lived in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now Spain. The La Huérguina Formation it comes from was a wetland, shared with the humped predator Concavenator.
How it was found
Pérez-Moreno and colleagues named Pelecanimimus in 1994. Its one skeleton preserves traces of soft tissue, which is how its throat pouch is known.
Field gallery
More views of Pelecanimimus
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 Pelecanimimus.
The evidence
The science behind Pelecanimimus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The front half of a skeleton preserves the skull, neck, chest and arms.
- Its long, narrow jaws carried many tiny teeth.
- Mineralized soft tissues preserve skin and muscle, including traces interpreted as a throat pouch and a small crest behind the head.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing hind legs and tail are restored by comparison with other ornithomimosaurs, such as Shenzhousaurus and Beishanlong.
Still unknown
- What it ate and how it used its many teeth.
- Whether it had feathers over parts of its body.
- Its color and the full shape of its throat pouch.
Discovery timeline
- 1994Named itPérez-Moreno et al.
- 1997SkinBRIGGS et al.
- 2021Full descriptionCuesta et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Pelecanimimus
Named it
Named an early ornithomimosaur with many small teeth and preserved traces of soft tissues.
A unique multitoothed ornithomimosaur dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain. Nature 370: 363-367
Read the paper : A unique multitoothed ornithomimosaur dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain (opens in a new tab)Skin
Confirmed that the soft-tissue traces include mineralized skin and muscle, with impressions also preserved on microbial mats.
The mineralization of dinosaur soft tissue in the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas, Spain. Journal of the Geological Society 154: 587-588
Read the paper : The mineralization of dinosaur soft tissue in the Lower Cretaceous of Las Hoyas, Spain (opens in a new tab)Full description
Redescribed the skeleton and identified enlarged hands, bony breast plates and rib projections unusual among early ornithomimosaurs.
Pelecanimimus(Theropoda: Ornithomimosauria) postcranial anatomy and the evolution of the specialized manus in Ornithomimosaurs and sternum in maniraptoriforms. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 194: 553-591
Read the paper : Pelecanimimus(Theropoda: Ornithomimosauria) postcranial anatomy and the evolution of the specialized manus in Ornithomimosaurs and sternum in maniraptoriforms (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Ornithomimosauria
Sources: Wikidata