Pelecanimimus
Pelecanimimus polydon
Pronounced:
Pel-ih-can-ih-Mime-us
Diet:
Carnivore
(meat-eater)
Name Means:
"Pelican
Mimic"
Length:
6 ft. (2
meters)
Height:
3 ft. (1
meters)
Weight:
unknown
Time:
Early
Cretaceous
133 MYA
Fossil remains for this Dinosaur have been found in Europe
This little dinosaur had the most teeth of any known meat-eater - 220 teeth! It is from the same dinosaur family that includes the Jurassic Park star Gallimimus. The strange thing is that almost no members of that family had any teeth at all, they had sharp beaks! This little hunter lived in Cretaceous Europe and may have had one other feature that was somewhat unique feathers.
Pelicanimimus
is considered a
basal member of
the
ornithomimosaur
family. Its
large number of
teeth did not
have serrations
and were very
closely packed.
It is thought
that this
feature may have
been an
evolutionary
step in the
development of
the sharp
cutting edge of
a beak. This
contradicts a
theory that the
formation of a
beak came about
through a
reduction of
teeth as opposed
to an increase.
Although
considered a
primitive form
of ornithomimid,
it had arms
similar to later
genera. |
