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GALLIMIMUS TRIVIA

1) When did Gallimimus live?


Gallimimus is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about seventy million years ago.

2) What does the name Gallimimus mean?


Despite its name, which is Greek for "chicken mimic", Gallimimus weighed more than 900 pounds. A better comparison might be a beefy, low-to-the-ground, aerodynamic ostrich.

3) Where was the first Gallimimus fossil discovered?


Gallimimus was discovered in 1964 by Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia.

4) Gallimimus is the largest known _____.


Ornithomimidae (meaning "bird-mimics") is a family of theropod dinosaurs which bore a superficial resemblance to modern ostriches. The skulls of ornithomimids were small, with large eyes, above relatively long and slender necks. All had toothless beaks.

5) How long did Gallimimus grow?


The adult holotype (specimen IGM 100/11) was about 6 metres (20 ft) long and 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) tall at the hip.

6) How many teeth did Gallimimus have?


Gallimimus was toothless with a keratinous (horny) beak and a delicate lower jaw.

7) What did Gallimimus eat?


At first scientists thought they were herbivores, but it is now believed that Gallimimus had an opportunistic, omnivorous diet like seagulls, eating small animals like insects and lizards, eggs, and some plant material.

8) How fast could Gallimimus run?


As an ornithomimid, Gallimimus would have been a fleet (or cursorial) animal, using its speed to escape predators. Its top speed has been estimated at 34 mph (56 km/h).

9) In the first Jurassic Park film, what predator is seen chasing a Gallimimus herd?


Dr. Alan Grant and the Murphy children witness a Gallimimus flock in its enclosure fleeing from Jurassic Park's Tyrannosaurus rex. The T. rex manages to kill one unlucky specimen who trips on another Gallimimus when the flock is running for safety.

10) What trait does Gallimimus share with modern birds?


Like birds today, Gallimimus had feathers, wing-like structures which may have been used for courtship, display, and brooding, and hollow chambers in its bones, which would have been filled with air sacs in life.

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