Literature
Primal Planet: Maniraptoromorpha 3/3
Ornithomimosaurs
The Ornithomimosauria, or the "bird mimic dinosars" are a second family group of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs within the Maniraptoromorpha clade. This group consists of fast-moving herbivorous or omnivorous theropod dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period that superficially resemble modern ratites. Most of these theropods within the clade are known for their slender bodies, long limbs, long necks, small toothless heads, large eyes, hoof-like claws, and feathered plumage similar to that of modern ostriches and other ratites, all of which make them built for a cursorial lifestyle. American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh first described the ornithomimosaur fossil in 1890. Initially, Marsh classified the family Ornithomimidae as a group of ornithopods, and then as a group of "megalosaurs." Still, paleontologists gradually moved it to the Coelurosauria clade as they uncovered more theropod diversity, and their authentic relationships to other theropods began to