Species
Deinocheirus mirificus
Deinocheirus mirificusDeinocheirus mirificus was an enormous, hump-backed ornithomimosaur that stalked the Late Cretaceous wetlands of what is now Mongolia. Armed with 2.4-meter arms tipped with blunt claws and a toothless, duck-like bill, it foraged in shallow waters using its broad snout to gather aquatic plants and scoop up fish. Fossil stomach contents reveal an omnivorous diet bolstered by gastroliths, highlighting a specialized lifestyle unique among its ostrich-mimic kin.
PrehistoricOmnivorous
—observations
—countries
—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preyTeleost fish, Aquatic vegetation
Predators
- Tarbosaurus bataar
ThreatsApex theropod predators, Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction
HabitatsCretaceous river basins and wetland floodplains
Life spanUnknown (estimated 25–35 years)
Classification
- FamilyDeinocheiridae
- SpeciesDeinocheirus mirificus
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Extinct prehistoric species; safe to view and examine as museum fossil specimens.
Responsible observation
- Museum Observation: Study mounted skeletons in natural history museums to appreciate its immense proportions.
- Anatomy Focus: Note the bizarre convergence of a duck-like bill, dorsal hump, and blunt hand claws.
Predator (c) Armel, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
Competitor Yuya Tamai from Gifu, Japan / CC BY 2.0 · cc-by
Contemporary (c) Mariolanzas, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
Image unavailableClose Relative 
Relative Fernando Losada Rodríguez / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-sa
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