Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 117, September 2014, pp. 1-33. | Page 11

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Struthiomimus is also known from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta
and the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, suggesting that the dinosaur may
have lived along the river banks of its day. These animals have not been
thoroughly studied yet but they may represent new species of Struthiomimus
(Wikipedia; Khalaf-von Jaffa, 2006).

Elaphrosaurus:
Elaphrosaurus was one of the earliest ornithomimids (ostrich dinosaurs),
Elaphrosaurus was a relative of Dromiceiomimus, Gallimimus, Ornithomimus,
and Struthiomimus. It was probably one of the earliest members of that family
and fossil bones have been found that date back to the late Jurassic period. Most
"ostrich dinosaurs" are found from the Cretaceous period. A distant relative is
Ornitholestes, a small dinosaur only half the size of Elaphrosaurus (Wikipedia;
Khalaf-von Jaffa, 2006).
Elaphrosaurus was a carnivore from late Jurassic Tanzania, 145 to 150 million
years ago. Scientists aren't sure what its head looked like, as its skull was never
found. Elaphrosaurus was probably a medium-sized, but lightly built, bipedal,
carnivore Ceratosaur and probably was about 6.2 meters (20 feet) long. It was
discovered by the German paleontologist Werner Janensch, in the Tendaguru
Beds of Tanzania, which has also yielded Brachiosaurus, Allosaurus, and
Kentrosaurus, to name a few (Wikipedia; Khalaf-von Jaffa, 2006).
What is known about Elaphrosaurs comes from a nearly complete skeleton found
in the Tendaguru Beds. What is known about it is that it was a long slender
dinosaur, with a long neck, possibly for digging into carrion. There have been
very few theropods skeletons found there, just bits and pieces, and this was a
rare find. Because the skeleton had no head, the Elaphrosaurus was displayed
with a skull based on Velociraptor. A related animal, or perhaps the same species,
has been found in the Morrison Formation (Wikipedia; Khalaf-von Jaffa, 2006).
Morphologically, this dinosaur is significant in two ways. First, it has a relatively
long trunk but is very shallow-chested for a theropod of its size. Second, it has
very short hind limbs when compared to its relatively long trunk. Phylogenetic
analysis indicates that this genus is likely a ceratosaur, and earlier suggestions
that it is a late surviving coelophysoid have been examined but generally
dismissed (Wikipedia).
When it was alive, it would have been about 20 feet long, may be 5 feet tall at the
hip, weighing may be 210 kilograms (463 pounds). It was built as a fast runner,
probably running down small prey on the open plains. Because of its long legs,
some think it may have been the fastest runner of the Jurassic. With long, slender
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 117 – September 2014