Therizinosaurus Fact Sheet

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Therizinosaurus Fact Sheet Common Name: Therizinosaurus cheloniformes Scientific Name: Turtle-like scythe lizard Wild Status: Cretaceous Period, 100-70 MYA Habitat: Mongolia Country: Mongolia Shelter: Unknown Life Span: Unknown Size: 33 feet long, 10 feet tall at the hips, 5 tons Details Therizinosaurus had the largest claws of any known animal, measuring just under a yard in length. When first discovered, paleontologists mistook the claw for the rib of a giant turtle, leading to the species name “cheloniformis”. Therizinosaurus and its relatives are unusual in that they are a group of theropods that have switched from carnivory to herbivory. Much of their anatomy reflects this dietary strategy. An exceptionally wide pelvis would have housed the extensive guts a herbivore needs, and unlike the feet of other theropods, Therizinosaurus had four toes touching the ground to help support the extra weight. Their heads were small, tipped in a keratinous beak, and full of close-packed, serrated teeth ideal for slicing vegetation. Cool Facts • It was first believed that Therizinosaurus was a predator like other theropods, using its enormous claws to reach in between the ribs and into the abdominal cavity of potential prey. However, the claws lack a cutting edge and the angle of curvature is too gentle to allow it to effectively grip a struggling animal. Instead, these claws were used as pruning hooks to help bring food within reach. Standing on two legs, Therizinosaurus could feed at a height above that of competing herbivores. Their lifestyle was in many ways similar to that of the giant ground sloths that appeared in the Cenozoic. • While no feathers have been discovered associated with Therizinosaurus specifically, a number of its relatives have been found covered in down. This plumage would have been used to help keep the animal warm, suggesting a warm-blooded metabolism, and possibly for display. Taxonomic Breakdown Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Saurischia Family: Therizinosauridae Genus: Therizinosaurus Species: T. cheloniformis Conservation & Helping The Therizinosaurus is currently extinct, and was believed to exist 100 - 70 Million Years Ago Download all our fact sheets, take our quizzes, and more, all in the Critter Squad Kids’ Zone! https://www.crittersquad.com/kids-zone/.

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The Paleontograph______
__________The Paleontograph________ A newsletter for those interested in all aspects of Paleontology Volume 5 Issue 1 March, 2016 _________________________________________________________________ From Your Editor Welcome to our latest issue. I hope you enjoyed the holidays. If you are anything like me, you are looking forward to Spring. We've had a mild winter here in CO. Weather is different than the east coast. While the nights are colder, the days are warmer. It's a nice change for me. I finally have my fossil lab up and running and I am spending my days, or part thereof, working off my backlog of fossils. It has been a couple of months since our last issue but Bob has kept writing and so we have an interesting issue for you to enjoy. The Paleontograph was created in 2012 to continue what was originally the newsletter of The New Jersey Paleontological Society. The Paleontograph publishes articles, book reviews, personal accounts, and anything else that relates to Paleontology and fossils. Feel free to submit both technical and non-technical work. We try to appeal to a wide range of people interested in fossils. Articles about localities, specific types of fossils, fossil preparation, shows or events, museum displays, field trips, websites are all welcome. This newsletter is meant to be one by and for the readers. Issues will come out when there is enough content to fill an issue. I encourage all to submit contributions. It will be interesting, informative and fun to read. It can become whatever the readers and contributors want it to be, so it will be a work in progress.
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NovitaotesAMERICAN MUSEUM PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10024 Number 3115, 39 pp., 13 figures December 28, 1994 The Skull of Erlicosaurus andrewsi, a Late Cretaceus "Segnosaur" (Theropoda: Therizinosauridae) from Mongolial JAMES M. CLARK,2 PERLE ALTANGEREL,3 AND MARK A. NORELL4 ABSTRACT The holotype of Erlicosaurus andrewsi Perle, drewsi includes the only well-preserved skull pres- 1981, from Late Cretaceous strata at Baynshin ently known for any taxon of Therizinosauridae. Tsav, South Gobi Aimak, Mongolia, includes an We present a detailed redescription of this skull, exceptionally well-preserved, nearly complete skull emphasizing those features bearing evidence ofits and mandible. Erlicosaurus andrewsi previously affinities with particular dinosaur groups. Cranial was considered a member ofSegnosauria Barsbold features of Erlicosaurus andrewsi are consistent and Perle, 1980, but recent work confirms that with the hypothesis that the Therizinosauridae are Therizinosaurus cheloniformis Maleev, 1954, is a members ofTheropoda, and ofthe theropod taxon member of this group; because Therizinosauridae Maniraptora (as modified to include Ornithomi- Maleev, 1954, has priority, it is the valid name mosauria) in particular. The skull of Erlicosaurus for the group. The holotype of Erlicosaurus an- andrewsi, furthermore, shares several derived fea- ' This is contribution number 6 of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences-American Museum of Natural History Paleontological Project. 2 Frick Postdoctoral Fellow, Department ofVertebrate Paleontology, American Museum ofNatural History; current address: Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052. 3 Mongolian Museum of Natural History, Ulaan Baatar 46, Zaluchudiin Gudamz-l, Mongolia. 4Associate Curator, Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History.
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