Pelecanimimus is a special dinosaur as it is considered to be one of if not the earliest known ornithomimosaur. Pelecanimimus also stands out from later forms because of the large number of teeth that are still present within its mouth, around two hundred and twenty in total. These teeth are thought to have given Pelecanimimus a bite that cut and ripped, but in later forms these teeth would become replaced with a keratinous beak that did much the same job.
Pelecanimimus also had a keratinous head crest that rose up from the back of the head. The bones in the lower arm are placed tight together for additional rigidity and the claws growing from the ends of the fingers are straight, something that is more common in primitive ornithomimosaurs. It’s possible that the hands and claws also played a part in prey capture, or even feeding. Soft tissue impressions also reveal that the skin was bare and scaley which indicates that Pelecanimimus did not have a feather covering.
By living and hunting in shallow waters means it is quite possible that Pelecanimimus would have come into contact with spinosaurid dinosaurs such as Baryonyx. Spinosaurids are today thought to have been specialist fish hunters, but a small dinosaur like Pelecanimimus might still have been a tempting snack for a hungry Baryonyx, which is why it is conceivable that Pelecanimimus would have given this dinosaur a wide birth. Actual competition between them for the same food would have probably been very minor since Pelecanimimus would have been restricted to only small sized prey, whereas Baryonyx as the larger dinosaur could have taken larger prey.
Pelecanimimus also coexisted with the bizarre theropod Concavenator that had humps over its hips. Iguanodon, one of the most common of the European plant eating dinosaurs of the Cretaceous is also well represented from the same formation. There were also primitive birds such as Eoalulavis and
Iberomesornis.
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