Little Known Facts About Struthiomimus Dinosaur
If you are a dinosaur enthusiast and have seen ‘Planet of Dinosaurs,’ you might probably have noticed a pair of Struthiomimus dinosaurs in the movie. Their ostrich-like appearance makes it easier for anyone to spot these study, bipedal dinosaurs with toothless beaks. Struthiomimus of the Ornithomimid genus roamed the lands of Canada and the USA in the late Cretaceous period. Fossil collectors now look for Struthiomimus fossils for sale to complete their collection of dinosaur specimens. If you are interested in knowing more about this ostrich-like dinosaur, here we have shared a few facts.
Struthiomimus dinosaurs were beast footed, which means they all were theropods. They had a raised tail, and therefore, had a horizontal posture. As their appearance was very similar to today’s flightless birds, like an ostrich, they were given the name Struthiomimus, meaning ostrich-like.
The eyes of Struthiomimus were big, and their vertebral columns consisted of thirteen back vertebrae, ten neck vertebrae, thirty to thirty-five tail vertebrae, and six hip vertebrae. They balanced their horizontal structure with the help of their stiff, elevated tail.
The sturdy hind limbs allow Struthiomimus to run fast from their predators. From their body structure and long and strong legs, it’s estimated that their average speed was about 30 to 50 mph. Since they had strong claws, they might have also used them as their defense mechanism to kick their predators off.
Struthiomimus’ straight-edge beak suggests they were omnivore and might be a filter feeder as they were shore-dweller. Because they were meat-eating dinosaurs, they were classified as theropods, the dwelling beasts of the Cretaceous period.
However, later, Osborn suggested that Struthiomimus were plant-eating dinosaurs and fed only on tree shoots and plant buds. They might have also used their small front limbs to grasp tree branches or let their long neck reach the food.
The strange structure of Struthiomimus with second and third fingers of the same length allows others to believe the theory that this dinosaur species were herbivores. So, they might have only used their hands to bring food to their shoulder height and stretch their neck to eat their food.
Although it’s not yet clear whether Struthiomimus were herbivores or carnivores, their fossils are available for Paleontologists to study their structure and learn about their eating habits. If you are a fossil collector, complete your collection of dinosaur fossils by looking for Struthiomimus fossils for sale and purchasing an authentic specimen from a reputed fossil seller.
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