Ornithomimid Leg

Cretaceous

Bissekty Formation

Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan

Theropod dinosaur foot.  870mm total length.  Fibula is a cast.  Foot has been left in natural state.

Dinosaur.  Archosaur.

Ornithomimids were the “bird mimics” or “ostrich dinosaurs.”  They appeared in the Early Cretaceous and are known from North America and Asia.  They were herbivorous or possibly omnivorous and were apparent fast runners (but not fast enough to outrun extinction).

This specimen is remarkably complete.  The fibula of most dinosaurs or mammals is rarely found as a fossil as it is a slender bone less likely to be preserved.  You’re lucky to find one end of it intact.