STL Science Center

STL Science Center

10 September 2014

Where Do I Live?

Barsbold in 1988 assigned Anserimimus to a derived clade of Ornithomimosauria known as Ornithomimidae. Gallimimus has been confirmed a number of times, independently, as the closest relative of Anserimimus. The two genera are middle of the tree family members according to the most recent cladogram of Xu et al (2011). Regardless, as dinosaurs of reasonable size, approximately 14 ft (4.3 m) and up to 500 lbs (226.8 kg), Anserimimus was probably a common meal for large theropods of the Nemegt Formation including Tarbosaurus. As many Jurassic Park fans may remember ornithomimids are figured as skilled runners. The best defense Anserimimus had was most likely numbers in coordination with its speed.

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