Habits of the Dinosaur Stnithiomiinus. 



l.'ili 



becomes evidt'iit tliat it <iiil not live in tlie usual tlieropodous 

 iiKiniier. 'I'lic tollowiii;^ review of tlw; luiictioii of the 

 (litVtTont orj^aiis of Slruthiomimua will, |)erlia|)s, slicd some 

 lij^lit on its mode of livin»^: — 



(1) The sfionp^ muscles of the femur and the slender elon- 

 gated mctatar:?us of the hind feet of Stnit/iiomimns show that 

 it either hunted itself some very swirt-runninf; prey or that 

 itself was often hunted. For reasons already put forward hy 

 Osborn, the first of these two possibilities has to he eliminated. 

 The toes of the hind feet are comparatively siiort and the 

 phalanges are rather strong. This shows that the foot could 

 be easily used lor Hcratching or for digging in loose material. 

 This has likewise been recognized by American paheontolo- 

 gists, and thus the whole structure of the hind toot ))roves 

 that So'ut/iioinimus was an inhabitant of the open country, 



A reconstruction of S/rul/iiomimus. 



I 



where it raced along at great speed when pur.^ued, and that 

 it probably avoided marshy ground and such covered with 

 dense vegetation like brusliwood, ferns, or large-leaved 

 platits. In this regard Strut hiomimus came evidently nearer 

 to the ostrich than to the moa. 



(2) The elongated arm-bone of our animal, with its lack 

 of a well-developed radial crest, shows that the arms of 

 Strufhiomtwus were not used for struggling with an opponent 

 nor tor holding live prey, nor for pulling, because all these 

 movements demand flexion and adduction. In the hand all 

 three persisting fingers are of equal length, and the thumb 

 could easily be opposed to the second and third finger. 

 During the closing of the hand especially, the last jdialanges 

 could be strongly bent, and so it again becomes evident that 



