Pronunciation:
Thair-iz-eye-no-sore-uss
keel-on-y-for-miss
Meaning: Turtle-headed
sythe-reptile
Period: late
Cretaceous
Length: 10
m
Weight: 1-2 t
Fossil
discoveries: Mongolia
The first Therizonisaurus bones were found in Mongolia in 1923. Though they were then misidentified as Tyrannosaurid remains, that error was later corrected as more complete specimens were found.
Therizinosaurus’ claim to fame is the ridiculously long claws on his fore-limbs. While they may not seem that big on the specimen here at Dinosaur Adventure, one must remember that this species reached heights of 10-11 meters, and the claws in such a large animal were upwards of 60 cm long!
Though much debate has ensued since the re-discovery of this amazing animal as to what ecological role it served, a few paleontologists are now subscribing to the “anteater hypothesis”. While Nigel Marvin may yet be proved correct with his “tree-top eater” theory, and to be frank, most paleontologists agree, I think the teeth are too small to be those of a very efficient plant eater. Omnivory was more likely the lifestyle of this particular Dinosaur; those claws would have been perfect for digging in to ant hills and termite mounds (insects that were there as early as 100 million years ago), and the overall body shape is quite similar to that of a mammalian anteater.
Therizinosauroids are lumped together with the Oviraptoroids to form a large clade of strange, bird-like dinosaurs.
