Timimus

What it was like

Timimus was a small theropod known from thigh bones. It was first described as an ostrich-like ornithomimosaur, but later studies suggest it may have been an early relative of the tyrannosaurs.

Its world

It lived about 113 to 110 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous, in Australia. The land then lay close to the pole, with long dark winters. Its bones come from the Eumeralla Formation, where it lived alongside the small plant eaters Leaellynasaura and Atlascopcosaurus.

How it was found

Rich and Vickers-Rich named Timimus in 1994. The type species is Timimus hermani. The name honors members of the family who led the digs.