Very HardOrnitholestes
Ornitholestes hermanni
or-NITH-oh-LESS-teez· “bird robber”
🦕 Dinosaur🕰️ Jurassic🥩 carnivore🦴 Coeluridae
2 m
Length
0.6 m
Height
15 kg
Weight
A small, lightly built predator from the Late Jurassic of North America with a short skull and grasping hands. It likely darted through the undergrowth hunting lizards, mammals and hatchlings.
When
Late Jurassic, ~154 million years ago
Found in
United States
Discovered
Henry Fairfield Osborn, 1900
Did you know?
- A small, agile hunter of the Late Jurassic Morrison ecosystem.
- Its name 'bird robber' reflects an early idea that it raided nests.
- Grasping three-fingered hands helped it seize small prey.
Artwork: PaleoNeolitic, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.