There was a lot of controversy about dinosaurs being the ancestors of modern-day birds before this one was introduced to the park. It's an Archaeornithomimus. I think it puts some of those arguments to rest. |
Archaeornithomimus is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaur in the Jurassic World Evolution series. Originating from Late Cretaceous Asia, Archaeornithomimus is a close relative of Gallimimus and Struthiomimus.
In Evolution, Archaeornithomimus was added to the game with the Deluxe Dinosaur Pack. In Campaign Mode, the species can be unlocked with a high level of reputation with the Security Division on Isla Tacaño, and can subsequently be excavated at the Bissekty and Iren Dabasu Formations.
History
Although Archaeornithomimus was not known to have been cloned by InGen, in 2015, Claire Dearing, the park manager of Jurassic World, once commented on the dinosaur's lengthy name to justify the naming of the Indominus rex as something that kids should be able to pronounce, much to the amusement of Owen Grady.[1]
Characteristics
Archaeornithomimus is an ornithomimid dinosaur related, and similar, to Gallimimus and Struthiomimus. However, Archaeornithomimus has a shorter snout and tail than the other members of its group, but it still has a sharp beak and long hind legs. Discovered from dig sites in China, its size – weighing between 110 lbs and reaches around 3.3 meters in length – and physical features led to its name, which translates to "Ancient Bird Mimic". Archaeornithomimus likely had an omnivorous diet consisting of everything from plants to eggs and even other juvenile dinosaurs. However, it was also prey animals for larger carnivores. The base genome is mainly a light beige at the bottom with black hands and legs. It has a greyish beige coloration, with streak of black at the middle of the body, from the eye orbit to the tail, an orange streak on top of the black streak, and a yellow streak on the back.
Gameplay
Evolution
Behaviour
Similar to others of its family, Archaeornithomimus is happy either alone or in herds. It tolerates other herbivores but will become stressed when the exhibit is overcrowded. It is rather defenceless against most carnivores, and rely on speed to escape their predator.
Available genomes
Fossil icon | Dig site | Quality | Number available |
---|---|---|---|
Bissekty Formation | ★ ★★ ★★★ ★★★★ |
1 3 6 4 | |
Iren Dabasu Formation | ★ ★★ ★★★ ★★★★ |
1 3 6 4 |
Skins
Paleontology
Remains of Archaeornithomimus have been found across Asia, with fossils found in China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia. The first Archaeornithomimus fossils were excavated from the Iren Dabasu Formation in Inner Mongolia in 1923 when American explorer, adventurer and naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews unearthed the bones of a new species. At the time of its discovery, Archaeornithomimus was the oldest known of the ornithomimidae family from the Late Cretaceous around 70 million years ago, but newer discoveries have since pushed the family back much earlier to the Cretaceous. The prefix "archae" ("ancient") was added in 1972, underlining Archaeornithomimus status as one of the oldest known species of Ornithomimid.
Interestingly, Archaeornithomimus was once regarded as a species of Asian Ornithomimus - though the genus being more commonly found in North America - and was originally named Ornithomimus asiaticus. In 1920, some earlier fossil finds were reclassified to a new Archaeornithomimus species. These fossils originated from the Arundel Formation in Maryland. A medium sized ornithomimid measuring 3.4 m (11 ft) long and weighing nearly 73 kg (160 lb), Archaeornithomimus shares many traits seen in others of its family such as Gallimimus, with long legs for fast running and a long stiff tail to act as a counterbalance. The skull hasn't been found yet, but it presumably was toothless like other ornithomimoids.
Paleoecology
In the Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan, Archaeornithomimus lived in Asia between 95 and 70 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period and preferred to live along the floodplains of rivers, where vegetation would be easy to come by. Archaeornithomimus lived alongside many other dinosaurs, including the small ceratopsian Turanoceratops and the hadrosaur Gilmoreosaurus, as well as a few other more obscure dinosaurs (Gigantoraptor, Bactrosaurus, Sonidosaurus, etc.) with little fossil material. Archaeornithomimus are also believed to have possessed feathers.
Gallery
References
- ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2015). Jurassic World [Film]. Universal Pictures.
External links
- Archaeornithomimus on Wikipedia