Dino card No. 0688 of 2,027

Gallimimus

Say it: GAL-im-EYE-mus

Name means: “chicken mimic”1

Ate: PlantsOstrich dinosLate Cretaceous

Gallimimus was a fast, ostrich-like dinosaur that lived in what is now Mongolia. It had a small head, big eyes, and a long neck, and it could run up to 56 kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour) to escape predators.1

Lived

94 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Mongolia (Gobi Desert) and Uzbekistan3 1

Food

Plants1

Length

6 m1

Weight

400 kg to 490 kg1

Height

1.9 m1

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 3 bicycles in a rowas long as 33 bananas end to endas heavy as 16 big dogsas heavy as 98 watermelonsabout as tall as a door

How big was Gallimimus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Gallimimus is the largest known ornithomimid, or ostrich dinosaur. Adults were about 6 meters (20 feet) long and weighed up to 490 kilograms (1,080 pounds).1

Its name means 'chicken mimic' because the bones in its neck look like those of chickens and other galliform birds.1

Gallimimus could run at speeds of 42 to 56 kilometers per hour (29 to 34 miles per hour), making it one of the fastest dinosaurs.1

Scientists think Gallimimus may have had feathers, like its relative Ornithomimus.1

Several Gallimimus skeletons were found together in a bone bed, which suggests they might have lived in groups.1

Gallimimus appeared in the movie Jurassic Park, running across a field in a famous scene that helped show dinosaurs as bird-like animals.1

AI-made picture of Gallimimus — An AI-made picture of how Gallimimus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Gallimimus

?What did Gallimimus eat?

Gallimimus was probably an omnivore, eating both plants and small animals. It had a toothless beak and may have used it to filter food from water or to eat tough plants.2 1

?Did Gallimimus have feathers?

Yes, scientists are confident Gallimimus had feathers. There is no direct evidence on Gallimimus itself, but its close relative Ornithomimus had feathers, so it is highly likely.2 1

?How fast could Gallimimus run?

Gallimimus could run at speeds of 42 to 56 kilometers per hour (26 to 35 miles per hour). That is more than twice as fast as a fit human, but slower than a modern ostrich.2 1

?When did Gallimimus live?

Gallimimus lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 70 million years ago.2 1

?Where was Gallimimus found?

Gallimimus fossils were found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. They were discovered by Polish-Mongolian expeditions in the 1960s.1

?How big was Gallimimus?

Gallimimus was about 6 meters (20 feet) long, 1.9 meters (6 feet) tall at the hip, and weighed around 400 to 490 kilograms (880 to 1,080 pounds). It was the largest known ornithomimid.2 1

?Did Gallimimus live in groups?

Yes, there is some evidence Gallimimus lived in groups. A single bone bed contained multiple skeletons, suggesting they died together.2 1

?Why is it called Gallimimus?

The name Gallimimus means 'chicken mimic' in Latin. It was named because the bones in its neck look like those of chickens and other galliform birds.2 1

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Myth buster

Myth: Gallimimus used its beak to filter small animals from water, like a flamingo.

Truth: The ridges in its beak were more like those of plant-eating animals. Scientists now think Gallimimus was a herbivore that ate tough plants, not a filter-feeder.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Gallimimus
Named by: Osmólska et al. 19723
Group: Ostrich dinos
Family / clade: Ornithomimidae3
Classification: Theropoda > Ornithomimosauria3
Age of the rocks: 94 to 66 million years (Turonian / Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Nemegt, Baruungoyot, Bissekty3
Countries: Mongolia, Uzbekistan3
Fossil records: 30 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Polish and Mongolian scientists found several Gallimimus skeletons in the Gobi Desert during the 1960s. The dinosaur was named Gallimimus bullatus in 1972 by Halszka Osmólska, Ewa Roniewicz, and Rinchen Barsbold.1 3
Still debated: Scientists still debate what Gallimimus ate. Some think it was an omnivore that ate small animals and plants, while others believe it was mainly a plant-eater.1

Where the facts come from

Gallimimus (en.wikipedia.org)
Gallimimus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Gallimimus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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