Pronunciation: AN-ser-i-MIEM-us
Meaning: Goose mimic
Author/s: Barsbold (1988)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Ömnögovi, Mongolia
Discovery Chart Position: #332
Anserimimus planinychus
Anserimimus, a lanky ornithomimosaur ("bird mimic") from the Bugin Tsav Locality of Mongolia's Gobi Desert that Rinchen Barsbold named in 1988, is famous for its flattened unguals, but that isn't as painful as it sounds. Unguals are the last joint(s) of the fingers or toes, typically adorned with a keratin claw, nail, or even a hoof. There's no limit to how many or few you can have as long as it's more than none.
In Anserimimus, the flattened unguals (straight claws) are on its hands and are elongated, non-curved, and wide, and when coupled with its closely bound metacarpals (the bones that attach the fingers to the wrist), it was in possession of what can best be described as a pair of shovels. What an ornithomimosaur was doing with such hands on the ends of so uniquely long and powerful arms is anyone's guess, and some have guessed "burrowing". But whatever it was doing, its relatives were doing something very different.
All of Barsbold's bird mimics were named after real birds. But we often wondered whether his Struthiomimus (ostrich mimic), Gallimimus (rooster mimic), and Anserimimus (goose mimic) actually resembled their namesakes or if they were coined out of convenience or infatuation. Our question was answered, kind of, in 2000 when Phil Currie suggested Anserimimus may be synonymous with Gallimimus, even though geese look nothing like roosters. But that theory was dismissed by Kobayashi and Barsbold six years later when they found yet more possibly unique features in its forelimbs, so we're none the wiser.
Barring the parts that Barsbold described in 1988 with features that set it apart from other ornithomimids, little information has been released regarding the anatomy of Anserimimus, and the closest it has come to a full description arrived via the thesis of Robert Bronowicz in 2005. As well as describing the holotype, he also referred additional material to Anserimimus, including a second partial skeleton (ZPAL MgD-I/65) from the Tsagan Khushu locality near Bugin Tsav. However, in 2010, he had a change of heart, opining that the latter might represent an all-new species based on a combination of features found in Asia's Anserimimus and North America's Ornithomimus.
In Anserimimus, the flattened unguals (straight claws) are on its hands and are elongated, non-curved, and wide, and when coupled with its closely bound metacarpals (the bones that attach the fingers to the wrist), it was in possession of what can best be described as a pair of shovels. What an ornithomimosaur was doing with such hands on the ends of so uniquely long and powerful arms is anyone's guess, and some have guessed "burrowing". But whatever it was doing, its relatives were doing something very different.
All of Barsbold's bird mimics were named after real birds. But we often wondered whether his Struthiomimus (ostrich mimic), Gallimimus (rooster mimic), and Anserimimus (goose mimic) actually resembled their namesakes or if they were coined out of convenience or infatuation. Our question was answered, kind of, in 2000 when Phil Currie suggested Anserimimus may be synonymous with Gallimimus, even though geese look nothing like roosters. But that theory was dismissed by Kobayashi and Barsbold six years later when they found yet more possibly unique features in its forelimbs, so we're none the wiser.
Barring the parts that Barsbold described in 1988 with features that set it apart from other ornithomimids, little information has been released regarding the anatomy of Anserimimus, and the closest it has come to a full description arrived via the thesis of Robert Bronowicz in 2005. As well as describing the holotype, he also referred additional material to Anserimimus, including a second partial skeleton (ZPAL MgD-I/65) from the Tsagan Khushu locality near Bugin Tsav. However, in 2010, he had a change of heart, opining that the latter might represent an all-new species based on a combination of features found in Asia's Anserimimus and North America's Ornithomimus.
(Flat-clawed Goose Mimic)Etymology
Anserimimus is derived from the Latin "anser" (goose) and the Greek "mimos" (mimic).
The species epithet, planinychus, means "flat clawed".
Discovery
Anserimimus was discovered in the Nemegt Formation at Bugin Tsav, Ömnögovi (South Gobi) Aimag (Province), Mongolia. The holotype (IGM 100/300) is a partial skeleton minus the skull.
