Therizinosaurus

Say it: THAIR-ih-ZIN-oh-SORE-us

Name means: “scythe lizard”1

Ate: PlantsOdd feathered dinosLate Cretaceous

Therizinosaurus was a giant, slow-moving dinosaur with a long neck and a beak. It had the longest claws of any animal that ever lived on land, reaching over 50 centimetres (20 inches) long! It used these claws to pull down branches and eat leaves.1

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Mongolia (Omnogov province), in the Nemegt Formation of the Gobi Desert1 2

Food

Plants1 2

Length

9 to 10 m1

Weight

5 tonnes to 6.6 tonnes1

Height

4 to 5 m1

Artist's life restoration of Therizinosaurus — How Therizinosaurus may have looked, by PaleoNeolitic. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Scientists still argue about colours and details.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Therizinosaurus lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period.2

The name Therizinosaurus means "scythe lizard" because of its long, curved claws that look like farming scythes.1

When first discovered in 1948, scientists thought Therizinosaurus was a giant turtle-like reptile, not a dinosaur!1

Therizinosaurus was one of the largest feathered dinosaurs ever found. It may have had feathers covering its body.1

Its claws were stiff and only curved at the tips, perfect for raking leaves and branches.1

Therizinosaurus shared its home with the giant predator Tarbosaurus, but its great height and long claws may have helped it defend itself.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Therizinosaurus
Named by: Maleev 19543
Group: Odd feathered dinos
Family / clade: Therizinosauridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Therizinosauria3
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Nemegt3
Countries: Mongolia3
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The first fossils of Therizinosaurus were found in 1948 by a Mongolian expedition in the Gobi Desert. The dinosaur was named by Russian paleontologist Evgeny Maleev in 1954.1
Still debated: Scientists still debate exactly how Therizinosaurus used its enormous claws, whether for gathering food, self-defense, or both.1

Where the facts come from

Therizinosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Therizinosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@dinowiki.app and we will fix it.