Deinocheirus

†Deinocheirus ('terrible hand') is a gigantic ornithomimosaur theropod from the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Reaching ~11 m and 6 tonnes — the largest ornithomimosaur — it bore enormous 2.4-m arms and a tall dorsal sail. For decades known only from those arms, complete specimens revealed its herbivore-omnivore diet and duck-like bill.

Diet & Feeding

Herbivore

Deinocheirus was a plant-eating dinosaur. Herbivores typically fed on ferns, cycads, conifers, and other vegetation available during their era. Many herbivorous dinosaurs developed specialized teeth and digestive systems for processing tough plant material.

Time Period

Cretaceous Late Mesozoic Era

Deinocheirus lived during the Cretaceous Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 100.5 to 66.0 million years ago.

The final age of dinosaurs, featuring iconic species like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor. Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity before the catastrophic asteroid impact at the Chicxulub crater ended the Mesozoic Era.