Therizinosaurus
Therizinosaurus cheloniformis
Pronounced:
Ther-ih-Zin-o-Sore-us
Diet:
Carnivore or omnivorous
Name Means:
"Scythe Lizard"
Length:
26 feet (8 m)
Height:
13 feet (4 m)
Weight:
1,000 pounds (450 kilos)
Time:
Late Cretaceous - 77 MYA
Fossil remains for this
Dinosaur have been found in
Asia
This strange looking
dinosaur had claws that
were 3 feet (1 m) long!
It is also the longest
of its family, the
therizinosaurs, yet
discovered. It is now
thought that it may have
had feathers, as others
in its family have been
found to show the
remains of protofeathers
in their fossils.
Known from only partial remains,
the claws and huge arms of this
dinosaur are astounding.
Therizinosaurus has been an
intriguing puzzle for scientists
ever since several huge claws were
first discovered in 1948. In the
late 1950s, a number of different
bones were found, including a tooth,
another large claw and parts of the
front and rear limbs that also
included a four-toed foot. These
bones were so bizarre that
paleontologists didn't know what to
make of them except to classify them
together because of the strange
claws.
A series of finds in Mongolia in
the late 1980?s showed that huge
arms that had been previously
attributed to
Deinocheirus actually
belonged to the same group as the
huge claws and strange bones
attributed to Therizinosaurus. Parts
of the pelvis and other bones were
also found, which gave
paleontologists a better look at
what was shaping up to be the
strangest dinosaur ever to walk the
earth.
While the claws were very long,
they were not sharply curved. In
cross section, they were quite thin.
Some scientists think they were used
to tear open termite mounds.
Therizinosaurs had a fairly long
neck, small head, and teeth that
could have been used to eat plants.
The family previously known as
segnosaurs is now named after this
peculiar dinosaur. |
