Tail belonging to strange ostrich-like dinosaur discovered off coast of Canada
Yahoo • • science
Key Points:
- Researchers discovered an 80-million-year-old tail bone on Denman Island, British Columbia, providing the clearest evidence that ostrich-like ornithomimosaur dinosaurs once lived along North America's Pacific coast.
- Ornithomimosaurs were fast-running, bird-like theropods from the Cretaceous period, characterized by small heads, slender bodies, toothless beaks, and long legs and necks resembling modern ostriches.
- Using CT scans and 3D modeling, scientists identified the isolated caudal vertebra as likely belonging to an ornithomimosaur, possibly the 10th tail bone of a two-legged specimen.
- The bone’s presence on the island may be explained by transport via floating carcasses, wave action, turbidity currents, or scavenging by other dinosaurs, though the exact process remains unknown.
- Further fossil discoveries are needed to determine how this western North American ornithomimosaur compares to related species found elsewhere on the continent.