Kicking off our first ever fact filled 'Fossil Friday' with a toe-tapping treat from the Late Cretaceous...
This fossilised phalanx (aka toe bone) once belonged to Struthiomimus – a sleek, ostrich-like dinosaur that sprinted across the plains of what’s now North America around 66 million years ago. With long legs, a lightweight frame, and a beak without any teeth, this speedy dino was likely one of the fastest runners of its time – and not too fussy about what was for dinner.
Discovered in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, this little toe bone is part of the finely tuned legwork that helped power its two-legged dash. Small, but it played a big part in avoiding becoming lunch!
I’ve included a couple of sketches alongside the fossil itself – one gives you a look at what Struthiomimus might have looked like in all its long-legged glory, and the other shows where this bone sits in the toe, and how it links up with the claw, a nice side-by-side to connect the dots between fossil and foot!
Fun fact: Despite looking like a prehistoric emu, Struthiomimus wasn’t a bird – but it was part of the theropod group, which means it was actually a distant cousin of T. rex (imagine that family reunion)
