Name:
Gallimimus (Greek for "chicken mimic"); pronounced GAL-ih-MIME-us
Habitat:
Plains of Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (75-65 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 20 feet long and 500 pounds
Diet:
meat, plants and insects
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Long tail and legs; slender neck
About Gallimimus:
Despite its name (which means "chicken mimic"), it's possible to overstate how much Gallimimus resembled a chicken; unless you know many chickens that weigh 500 pounds and run 30 miles per hour, a better comparison may be to a light, low-to-the-ground, aerodynamic ostrich. This was the prototypical ornithomimid ("bird mimic") dinosaur, albeit a bit bigger than others of its kind, like Dromiceiomimus and Ornithomimus.
Gallimimus has been featured prominently in Hollywood movies: it's the ostrichlike creature seen fleeing the Tyrannosaurus Rex in the original Jurassic Park, and it also makes smaller, cameo-type appearances in the Jurassic Park sequels.
