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Deinocheirus
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Deinocheirus

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Deinocheirus ( ) is a genus of large ornithomimosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous around 70 million years ago. In 1965, a pair of large arms, shoulder girdles, and a few other bones of a new dinosaur were first discovered in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. In 1970, this specimen became the holotype of the only species within the genus, Deinocheirus mirificus; the genus name is Greek for "horrible hand". No further remains were discovered for almost fifty years, and its nature remained a mystery. Two more complete specimens were described in 2014, which shed light on many aspects of

Wikidata facts

Mass
6.4
Image
Deinocheirus Restoration.png
Height
4.4
Length
10.0
Show 4 more facts
Commons category
Deinocheirus
taxon name
Deinocheirus
start time
71000000-0
end time
69000000-0
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via Wikidata · CC0

~33 min read

Article

12 sections
Contents
  • Discovery
  • Additional specimens
  • Description
  • Postcranial skeleton
  • Classification
  • Palaeobiology
  • Diet
  • Palaeopathology
  • Palaeoenvironment
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Deinocheirus ( ) is a genus of large ornithomimosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous around 70 million years ago. In 1965, a pair of large arms, shoulder girdles, and a few other bones of a new dinosaur were first discovered in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. In 1970, this specimen became the holotype of the only species within the genus, Deinocheirus mirificus; the genus name is Greek for "horrible hand". No further remains were discovered for almost fifty years, and its nature remained a mystery. Two more complete specimens were described in 2014, which shed light on many aspects of the animal. Parts of these new specimens had been looted from Mongolia some years before, but were repatriated in 2014.

Deinocheirus was an unusual ornithomimosaur, the largest of the clade at long, and weighing . Though it was a bulky animal, it had many hollow bones which saved weight. The arms were among the largest of any bipedal dinosaur at long, with large, blunt claws on its three-fingered hands. The legs were relatively short, and bore blunt claws. Its vertebrae had tall neural spines that formed a "sail" along its back. Most of the vertebrae and some other bones were highly pneumatised by invading air sacs. The tail ended in pygostyle-like vertebrae, which indicate the presence of a fan of feathers. The skull was long, with a wide bill and a deep lower jaw, similar to those of hadrosaurs.

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