Struthiomimus Facts
- Name: Struthiomimus İstroofh-ee-oh-mime-us) means ‘ostrich mimic’ because it looked, and probably moved, like an ostrich
- Size: 3 — 4m long and 2m high
- Food: plants, seeds, fruits, eggs and lizards
- Lived: 80 – 66 million years ago in theCretaceous Period in western North America
With its long neck, small head, beak and long legs, Struthiomimus looked rather like an ostrich. Fast-moving Struthiomimus may have looked like a large bird, but it did not have wings or feathers and didn’t fly.
It ran on its two long back legs, gripping the ground with the curved claws on its toes. Struthiomimus used its long thin, stiff tail to balance itself. It had two short, slim arms and long, three-fingered hands, which it probably used for reaching and picking up food.
A Varied Diet
Struthiomimus ate many things, including plants, seeds, nuts and fruits. It snapped at flying insects with its toothless, horny beak and gobbled up small ground creatures, such as lizards. It may even have raided the nests of other dinosaurs, to eat eggs and even the newly hatched young.
Fast Sprinter
These fast-running dinosaurs had no weapons to defend themselves, so they travelled in i groups for safety. If Struthiomimus was attacked by other dinosaurs, it ran away. It was a very fast runner and could sprint at speeds of up to 40kmh, over short distances, so could probably out run most larger predators (hunting animals).