The ornithomimids are general bird mimics, as the name states. Some of the more well known genera include an ostrich mimic (
Ornithomimus) and a chicken mimic (
Gallimimus). One of the slightly less well known bird mimics is a the goose mimic
Anserimimusplaninychus. A Soviet/Mongolian found Mongolian dinosaur,
Anserimimus was discovered in the 1970's and described by Rinchen Barsbold in 1988. Like many other Mongolian dinosaurs discovered in joint Soviet/Mongolian expeditions, this dinosaur is known from a single set of remains. The body plan, overall, resembles other ornithomimid dinosaurs. The name
Anserimimus is more traditional than it is descriptive. The dinosaur does not look anything like a goose. The specific epithet references the strange flat claws of
Anserimimus. This anatomical characteristic sets
Anserimimus apart from all other ornithomimids, but we will learn about that tomorrow.
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| Photo by Jordi Paya |
