Ornithomimus (; "bird mimic") is a
genus of
ornithomimid dinosaurs from the Late
Cretaceous Period of what is now
North America.
Ornithomimus was a swift bipedal
theropod which fossil evidence indicates was covered in
feathers, equipped with a small toothless beak that may indicate an
omnivorous diet. It is usually classified into two species: the
type species,
Ornithomimus velox, and a referred species,
Ornithomimus edmontonicus.
O. velox was named in 1890 by
Othniel Charles Marsh on the basis of a foot and partial hand from the late
Maastrichtian-age
Denver Formation of
Colorado,
United States. Another seventeen species have been named since, though most of them have subsequently been assigned to new genera or shown to be not directly related to
Ornithomimus velox. The best material of species still considered part of the genus has been found in
Alberta,
Canada, representing the species
O. edmontonicus, known from several skeletons from the early Maastrichtian
Horseshoe Canyon Formation. Additional species and specimens from other formations are sometimes classified as
Ornithomimus, such as
Ornithomimus samueli (alternately classified in the genera
Dromiceiomimus or
Struthiomimus) from the earlier,
Campanian-age
Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta.