Therizinosauroidea
| Therizinosauria Temporal range: Early–Late Cretaceous, 130–66 Ma Possible Early Jurassic record |
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| Reconstructed skeleton of Nothronychus mckinleyi | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Maniraptora |
| Clade: |
†Therizinosauria Russell, 1997 |
| Synonyms | |
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Segnosauria Barsbold, 1980 |
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Segnosauria Barsbold, 1980
Segnosaurischia Dong, 1987
Therizinosaurs (or segnosaurs) were theropod dinosaurs belonging to the clade Therizinosauria. Therizinosaur fossils have been found in Early through Late Cretaceous deposits in Mongolia, the People's Republic of China and western North America. Various features of the forelimbs, skull and pelvis unite these finds as both theropods and as maniraptorans, close relatives to birds.
The name therizinosaur is derived from the Greek θερίζω therízein, meaning 'to reap' or 'to cut off', and σαῦρος saûros meaning 'lizard'. The older name segnosaur is derived from Latin segnis meaning 'slow' or 'sluggish', and Greek σαυρος, sauros, meaning 'lizard'.
Therizinosaurs had a very distinctive, often confusing set of characteristics. Their long necks, wide torsos, and hind feet with four toes used in walking resembled those of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs. Their unique hip bones, which pointed backwards and were partially fused together, initially reminded paleontologists of the "bird-hipped" ornithischians. Among the most striking characteristics of therizinosaurs are the enormous claws on their hands, which reached lengths of around one meter in Therizinosaurus. The unusual range of motion in therizinosaur forelimbs, which allowed them to reach forward to a degree other theropods could not achieve, also supports the idea that they were mainly herbivorous. Therizinosaurs may have used their long reach and strongly curved claws to grasp and shear leafy branches, in a manner similar to the ground sloths.
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