A lightly built meat eater, Ornitholestes was called "bird robber" because it was believed to chase primitive bird life. Scientists used to think it was the same as Coelurus, but they now see it as a different member of the same family. It had long and slim back legs with short front legs, or arms. With tough feet and a tiny claw on each of three toes, they were fast-running dinosaurs. Capable of dashing through undergrowth and across grassland, they may have preyed on the dead flesh of other dinosaurs. In this way they may have been the jackals of the dinosaur age, tearing up the flesh of dinosaurs killed by the great meat eaters like Tyrannosaurus.
With small hands, each supporting three fingers, they probably lived by rummaging and foraging. An almost complete skeleton of Ornitholestes was found in Wyoming. From this, scientists have pieced together a lot of information about the tiny predator. Lizards, frogs, and small mammals would have been easy prey for this fierce little hunter.
Diet: Small vertebrates
Size: Length 2m
Weight 12.5kg
Classification:
Family Coeluridae
Infraorder Tetanurae
Suborder Theoropoda
Order Saurischia
Time (million years ago): 150