Fastest Dinosaur: Ostrich-Like Ornithomimus Up to 70 km/h
Ornithomimids like Gallimimus reached 60 to 80 km/h in the Late Cretaceous with long ostrich legs and toothless beaks.
Ostrich build and speed
Ornithomimids such as Gallimimus and Struthiomimus measured 4 to 6 meters and weighed 150 to 400 kilograms 76 to 66 million years ago. Two ostrich-like long legs gave 4-meter strides, with bursts of 60 to 80 kilometers per hour.
Long shin bones and compact 3-toed feet worked like springs, storing energy with each 2-meter jump. Strong thigh muscles of 15 kilograms per leg powered acceleration from 0 to 40 kilometers per hour in seconds, outrunning tyrannosaurs over 200-meter chases.
Beaks, diet and herds
Toothless beaks ate plants, seeds and small prey, with 50-gram gastroliths grinding food. Fossil stomachs hold lizard bones and 5-centimeter shells, proving omnivory across 10-kilometer ranges. Forward eyes spotted insects 100 meters away.
Herds of 20 animals migrated seasonally, with juveniles growing to 2 meters in one year. Long arms with 10-centimeter claws hooked branches, while 60-centimeter tails steered turns, making ornithomimids the swiftest Late Cretaceous runners.
- Gallimimus and Struthiomimus, 4 to 6 meters.
- Speed 60 to 80 km/h in bursts.
- Late Cretaceous 76 to 66 million years.
- Toothless beaks, plants and small prey.
- 2 long ostrich-like legs, 4 meter stride.