Therizinosaurus

Therizinosaurus
Classification
Name	Therizinosaurus cheloniformis
Name Meaning	Turtle-Formed Scythe Lizard
Species	Dinosaur
Family	Therizinosauridae
Diet	Herbivore
Physiology
Description	Large, bipedal herbivorous dinosaur with a long neck, small head, and large claws
Attributes	Large; prosauropod-like build; long neck; small head; a pot belly; huge arms; large claws.
Height	5.5 m (18.04 ft)
Length	10.4 m (34.12 ft)
Weight	6 t (13,227 lb)
Biography
Era	Late Cretaceous
Time	80 to 65 MYA
Discovered	1954
Locations	Asia

“	There's claws, Therizinosaurus - the scythe reptile. Long neck, small head, and those great but lethal claws at the front. This is the oddest of dinosaurs.	„
	— Allen Johnson, about Therizinosaurus in The Giant Claw

Therizinosaurus (name meaning "Scythe Lizard"), also commonly dubbed The Giant Claw due to its large scythe-like claws, is a genus of herbivorous therizinosaurid theropod dinosaur that originated during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Asia. Measuring 10 meters long and weighing 6 tons, Therizinosaurus was the last and arguably the largest representatives of its unique group, the Therizinosauria. Originally, their claws (due to their large size) were believed to have been bones of a giant turtle until they were later discovered to be a theropod-like herbivorous dinosaur.

In the Series 2 episode "The Giant Claw”, a small herd of Therizinosaurus were brought to the park from Late Cretaceous Mongolia 80 million years ago.

Facts

Era & Discovery

Therizinosaurus lived in Mongolia, Asia during the Late Cretaceous period from 80 to 65 million years ago. It shared its environment with a variety of fauna; such as Protoceratops, Saurolophus, Mononykus, Velociraptor, and its main rival Tarbosaurus.

When the first fossils of Therizinosaurus were discovered sometime in the 1950's, the only thing they found was an extraordinary, 28-inch claw. Originally, it was believed to have been a single rib bone that belonged to a prehistoric speceis of turtle-like creature, possibly Archelon. Between the 1970's and 1980's, it was later revealed to be attached to the arms of a massive dinosaur with a pro-sauropod like build. With the arms themselves measuring 10 feet (3.1 m) in length, they were deemed the longest arms of any creature, let alone dinosaur, ever discovered. Due to their scythe like appearance, paleontologists had then decided to name the dinosaur "Therizinosaurus", or the "Scythe Lizard".

Physical Attributes

Therizinosaurus stood 5.5 meters tall and weighed 6 tons, making them the largest therizinosaurs.

Therizinosaurus arms

Therizinosaurus had a pot belly to serve as a massive fermentation chamber, allowing it to process and digest large quantities of tough, fibrous plant material. They had massive claws which were used to defend themselves from large predatory dinosaurs like Tarbosaurus, even as a baby within egg shells, these dinosaurs had long claws. These dinosaurs also used their huge claws to drag leaves into their mouths. Therizinosaurus had long necks to reach the trees they browsed on and a tiny head. They had teeth that were leaf shaped and serrated which was designed to slice through vegetation like leaves, pine needles, and cycads.

Behavior & Traits

Like many herbivorous dinosaurs, Therizinosaurus lived in herd to protect themselves from predators like Tarbosaurus and Velociraptors. Unlike their ancestors or other theropod dinosaurs, these theropods evolved to browse on plant material rather than meat.

Gallery

Trivia

• The sound effects of Therizinosaurus are cow, elephant, giraffe, vulture, and wolf sound effects. It also features ambulance wails.
• Therizinosaurus is one of the only two Therizinosaur dinosaurs brought to the park, the other being the smaller Nothronychus.