Sunday, September 13, 2015

Sinornithomius Sunday ‭(‬Chinese bird mimic‭)‬




What is the most important ornithomosaur discovered by the twenty first century is also the least known outside of paleontology. Sinornithomius is to be a more advanced form of ornithomimosaurs like Harpymimus, but Sinornithomius was not as advanced as those who lived towards the end of the Cretaceous like Ornithomimus.This intermediate development might also support an intermediate placement during the Turonian period of the Cretaceous which is roughly the half way mark between primitive and advanced ornithomimosaur forms.‭ ‬A feature that makes Sinornithomimus immediately stand out from other forms is the neck that is much shorter in proportion to the body than in other forms.
Sinornithomius would have Clustering in groups which means it would have had better protection from predatory dinosaurs of the time such as Shaochilong and Chilantaisaurus.‭Another thing area that Sinornithomimus has helped to fill in the gaps is gastroliths.‭ ‬For those who are not familiar,‭ ‬gastroliths are stones which are swallowed and stored in the stomachs of some animals that usually cannot process food in their mouths by chewing,‭ ‬so they rely upon the grinding action of the stones moving around in their stomachs to do the job for them.‭ ‬Most,‭ ‬particularly the more advanced form ornithomimosaurs did not have teeth,‭ ‬just a keratinous beak that allowed them to grip and snip things.‭ ‬Beaks however are good for a variety of dietary options from plants to small animals and carrion,‭ ‬so exactly what ornithomimosaurs ate has always remained a mystery.‭ ‬Because gastroliths are most commonly found in herbivorous‭ (‬plant eating‭) ‬animals this has led to speculation that Sinornithomimus at least may have been more herbivorous than the omnivore that eats both plants and animals that other ornithomimosaurs are depicted as being.


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