Ornithomimus fossil map
Where fossils of Ornithomimus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 66 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 66 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Theropods |
|---|---|
| Lived | 83.6–66 million years ago (Campanian to Maastrichtian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Ornithomimidae |
| Named by | Marsh 1890 |
| Fossil records | 35 occurrences at 33 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Canada |
| Rock formations | Lance, Horseshoe Canyon, Denver, Dinosaur Park, txn:38539, Tar Heel |
About Ornithomimus
Ornithomimus (; "bird mimic") is a genus of ornithomimid theropod dinosaurs from the Campanian and Maastrichtian ages of the Late Cretaceous in western North America. Ornithomimus was a swift, bipedal dinosaur which was covered in feathers and equipped with a small toothless beak that may indicate an omnivorous diet. It is usually classified into two species: the type species, Ornithomimus velox, and a referred species, Ornithomimus edmontonicus.
O. velox was named in 1890 by Othniel Charles Marsh on the basis of a foot and partial hand from the Denver Formation of Colorado. Other seventeen species have been named since then, though almost all of them have been subsequently assigned to new genera or shown not to be directly related to O. velox. The best material of species still considered part of the genus has been found in Alberta, representing the species O. edmontonicus, known from several skeletons from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Additional species and specimens from other formations are sometimes classified in the genus, such as Ornithomimus samueli (alternatively classified in the genera Dromiceiomimus or Struthiomimus) from the earlier Dinosaur Park Formation.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Ornithomimus (revision 1363838195), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q131067.
