Deinocheirus
|
|
|
Deinocheirus is undoubtedly one of the weirdest and most infamous dinosaurs of all time. Deinocheirus was first discovered in 1965, and the most complete of these fossils were a pair of massive arms (hence the name, "horrible hand"). Nobody knew exactly what Deinocheirus was (but the general consensus was a giant Ornithomimosaur) or what it looked like, and it remained a mystery for the next few decades. Then in the early 2010's, the discovery of two new Deinocheirus specimens were announced, clearly identifiable from the arms. Some bones had already been looted by fossil poachers, but soon these remains (the skull, arms, and feet) were repatriated to Mongolia. These remains give us a near-complete picture of Deinocheirus's skeleton - and it was nothing like anything seen before. Deinocheirus's skull is narrow, beaked, and over three feet long. The tip of the snout is expanded into a spoonlike beak, reminiscent of those of spoonbills. Its arms (ironically now the least interesting part of it) are almost eight feet long and strongly-muscled. It is hunchbacked, and its back vertebrae have tall neural spines, forming a large hump. Its legs are comparatively small and, unlike most theropods, the first toe has disappeared. Like other Ornithomimosaurs, Deinocheirus's claws could serve multiple purposes, including gathering plants and possibly fish (which gut contents show it ate). It grows rapidly, and its brain is very small for a theropod. Deinocheirus lived in and around water in the humid, wet forests of the Nemegt Formation. Our Deinocheirus, named Ol' Sam, lives in the Mongolia of the Cretaceous exhibit. He shares a pond with a flock of Teviornis. He acts like a grumpy old man, even though he's relatively young. |
Scientific name Location Time Length Diet |