| Some of these animals present a real test of our abilities. Take, for instance, this latest dinosaur, the Gallimimus. It's an opportunistic omnivore that does best in groups - that alone isn't the problem. But the speed... Gallimimus is incredibly fast, which presents special challenges for the ranger teams tasked with monitoring them. |
Gallimimus is a genus of ornithomimid dinosaur in the Jurassic World Evolution series. Originating from Late Cretaceous Asia and the largest species of ornithomimid, Gallimimus are first unlocked by the Hammond Foundation on Isla Tacaño.
History
| I had long postulated that certain dinosaurs move in herds. The Gallimimus we have here, for example, is one such animal. Unfortunately, I experienced a pack of these dinosaurs running for their lives, and almost trampling me in the process. I suppose this is paleontology in the post-Jurassic Park era. |
Gallimimus was first bred by InGen for the original Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. Based on an InGen report, the original herd of Gallimimus on Isla Nublar numbered 24 individuals, though by 1994, their numbers dropped dramatically to nine due to constant Tyrannosaurus attacks.[1]
On Isla Sorna, there was an original population count of twenty. However, it is unknown if and how this figure changed over time, due to the island being abandoned after Hurricane Clarissa hit the island. It is assumed that because of the frog DNA added to the Gallimimus genome, some animals changed sex and began breeding.[1]
After Jurassic World was completed in 2004, Gallimimus was exhibited in the Gallimimus Valley attraction, where tourists could take a safari ride through the valley among the Gallimimus. Guests could also interact with juvenile Gallimimus in the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo.[2] Three years later, Gallimimus were encountered during the eruption of Mount Sibo, which threatened it and the other species of resurrected dinosaur with extinction. Several Gallimimus were successfully transported to the mainland. These specimens were later released from their cages alongside numerous other species of dinosaurs, into the wilds of northern California.[3]
Four years after the incident at Lockwood Manor, many Gallimimus roamed the wilderness freely, with some being captured and taken to a sanctuary created by BioSyn.[4]
Characteristics
The largest of the ornithomimid dinosaurs in the Evolution series, at around 450kg and just over 4.5 meters in length, Gallimimus is a genus of ostrich-like theropod dinosaur from the ornithomimidae family known for its speed – which has been compared to that of a cheetah. Its name translates to "Chicken Mimic", in reference to its neck vertebrae, which are similar to those of chickens. Fast, agile, intelligent and with excellent vision, Gallimimus is well adapted to evading predators and catching its own prey, most likely having ate small creatures, eggs and maybe some plants. The base genome of Gallimimus has is primarily orange, with darker brown stripes running down its head, neck, and back.
Behaviour
Gallimimus is an excellent and versatile dinosaur for small and large herbivore enclosures. They have a fairly long lifespan and excellent immunity against diseases. Their minimum exhibit space requirement is rather low and they're inexpensive to incubate. Like other Ornithomimidae, Gallimimus is a herding animal, and can live with up to eighteen other Gallimimus, as well as twenty three other dinosaurs of varying species. With the Claire's Sanctuary expansion pack, Gallimimus display a preference for Palms, with a secondary preference for Horsetails and Grasses. Conversely, they are harmed when they consume Paw Paw, Mosses and Cycads.
Paleontology
Growing to 6 m (20 ft) long and weighing 490 kg (1,080 lb), Gallimimus is one of the largest, if not, the largest and best understood of the Ornithomimidae family. Like other genera such as Struthiomimus, it had long legs, a long neck, and a toothless beak. The diet of this family of dinosaurs has always been a point of debate, but from stomach contents containing gastrolith stones and wear and tear on beaks suggest that Gallimimus was mostly herbivorous. Gallimimus also had a wide field of vision, which was useful for spotting predators such as Tarbosaurus or packs of Zanabazar.
The first Gallimimus fossil was discovered in a Polish-Mongolian expedition in the Nemgt Formation in the Gobi Desert in 1964 by Polish paleobiologist Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska when she excavated a partial skeleton in the sands of the Nemegt Basin. Further exploration of the area in the next few years unearthed more Gallimimus bones, giving researchers a more rounded understanding of the genus. Only one species of this genus has so far been discovered.
A flock of Gallimimus.
Paleoecology
Gallimimus lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 70 million years ago, living near rivers, lakes and streams and feeding on ground-level plants and shrubs. Mongolia at this time was rich with a myriad of dinosaur genus, including other theropods such as the fearsome tyrannosaurids Tarbosaurus and Alioramus, the dromaeosaurid Adasaurus, the enormous basal ornithomimosaur Deinocheirus, a wide variety of oviraptorosaurids such as Avimimus and Conchoraptor, as well as the mysterious theropod Therizinosaurus. Alongside these were more conventional dinosaurs; the hadrosaur Saurolophus, the pachycephalosaurids Homalocephale and Prenocephale, and the ankylosaurids Saichania and Tarchia as well as the sauropods Nemegtosaurus and Opisthocoelicaudia.
Available genomes
| Fossil icon | Dig site | Quality | Number available |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Nemegt Formation | ★ ★★ ★★★ ★★★★ |
2 6 12 8 |
Skins
Savannah: Isla Pena Challenge Mode Any Difficulty Unlock
Behind the scenes
To create the Gallimimus, the development team acquired the 3D model that was created for the Jurassic World films by Industrial Light & Magic, to create the most authentic representation of the dinosaur.[5] It was officially revealed in a Species Profile on March 2, 2018.[6]
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 What Killed the Gene Guard Act?. (February 23, 2018). Dinosaur Protection Group. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2015). Jurassic World [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ↑ Bayona, J. A. (Director). (2018). Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2022). Jurassic World Dominion [Film]. Universal Pictures.
- ↑ Krupa, Daniel (May 16, 2018). HOW JURASSIC WORLD EVOLUTION MADE ITS T.REX - IGN FIRST IGN. Retrieved June 14, 2018
- ↑ Frontier Developments. (March 2, 2018). Species Profile - Gallimimus [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
External links
- Gallimimus on Wikipedia
