Therizinosaurus: The Panda bear of the Cretaceous

Therizinosaurus by Ivan Iofrida

With long arms and sharp claws, Therizinosaurus has almost all the character traits of a predator, however, this dinosaur was an herbivore.

Therizinosaurus is a theropod, the dinosaur family that includes T. rex, Allosaurus, dromeosaurs, and even birds. But unlike most of its non-avian cousins, Therizinosaurus evolved to have a mostly plant-based diet.

A lot like panda bears, which have traded a predator lifestyle for bamboo leaves while retaining most of the characteristics that make them part of the bear family, Therizinosaurus kept a set of strong arms ending in very long and sharp claws.

This made this dinosaur one of the most bizarre and also one of the most capable of defending itself against a predator. Bumping into a Therizinosaurus in the middle of a dark forest would most likely be as terrifying as stumbling into a T. rex’s nest.

No longer a turtle

Therizinosaurus fossils were first found in 1948 by a team of soviet paleontologists exploring the Nemegt Formation of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.  

This expedition found a great deal of dinosaur and turtle fossil remains, but the most noteworthy find was three sizeable incomplete claw bones in combination with other objects including a metacarpal fragment and multiple rib pieces in close proximity to a big theropod's skeleton.

The fossils were given the specimen number PIN 551-483 and later used as the basis for the new genus and type species Therizinosaurus cheloniformis, which became the holotype specimen, described by the Russian paleontologist Evgeny Maleev in 1954.

The name Therizinosaurus, which refers to this animal’s enormous claws, is derived from the Greek words therzo, which means scythe, reap, or cut, and sauros, which means lizard. The specific name cheloniformis, which refers to the remains, is derived from the Greek word chelóni, which means turtle, and the Latin formis, since the remains were thought to belong to a turtle-like reptile.

However, in 1970 another Russian paleontologist named Anatoly K. Rozhdestvensky, had a better look into these fossils and suggested that Therizinosaurus was in fact a theropod dinosaur and not a turtle, by comparing its claw bones with those of other meat-eating dinosaurs.

New fossil findings of this animal and of other species closely related to Therizinosaurus, like Segnosaurus and Nothronychus, further supported this claim, making this dinosaur the first of a new family called Therizinosauridae.

A not-so-gentle giant

Mounted forelimbs of specimen MPC-D 100/15 at Nagoya City Science Museum

Although new fossil remains have been found, Therizinosaurus is to this day one of the most incomplete members of this group. The most complete remains only include bones of its forelimbs, claws, some ribs, and its hindlimbs, and we have yet to find its skull.

Taking this data into account, and looking at other members of this group, paleontologists have managed to determine that Therizinosaurus would have reached 9 to 10 meters (30 to 33 ft) in length with an estimated height of 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 ft) and a weight from 3 to 5 metric tons (3.3 to 5.5 short tons).

But one of the most fascinating things about this animal was its diet. In 1993, Canadian paleontologists Dale and Donald Russell compared Therizinosaurus and Chalicotherium, an extinct large ungulate mammal known for walking on its knuckles. This team identified some similarities in both animals’ body plans.

Both Therizinosaurus and Chalicotherium had large, well-developed, and relatively strong arms, a robust pelvic girdle suited for a sitting behavior, and robust and shortened hindlimbs.

Dale and Donald considered these adaptations to represent an example of convergent evolution, which happens when different organisms evolve similar traits without being related. An example of this is sharks, dolphins, and ichthyosaurs, evolving a very similar body plan in spite of being separated by hundreds of millions of years of evolution, and belonging to different clades.

Since animals with this type of body plan are known to represent herbivores, the authors suggested this lifestyle for Therizinosaurus. Dale and Donald Russell reconstructed the feeding behavior of Therizinosaurus as being able to sit while consuming foliage from large shrubs and trees, using its arms to pull the branches towards itself, and its long neck to feed on the leaves without having to stand.

When browsing in a bipedal stance, Therizinosaurus may have been able to reach even higher vegetation supported by its short and robust feet. Whereas Chalicotherium was more suited to hook branches, Therizinosaurus was better at pushing large clumps of foliage because of its long claws.

In 2018, paleontologist Anthony R. Fiorillo suggested that Therizinosaurus had a reduced bite force that may have been useful for cropping vegetation or foraging. This hypothesis was suggested based on an analysis of other therizinosaurids such as Erlikosaurus and Segnosaurus.

A Jurassic star is born

Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) is being chased by a Therizinosaurus in Jurassic World Dominion

Therizinosaurus has recently risen to fame, being one of the new dinosaur stars of Jurassic World Dominion. But how accurate was this dinosaur’s depiction in the new movie?

Although the fossil remains of Therizinosaurus are relatively incomplete, its physical characteristics can be inferred through more complete and related therizinosaurids.

Paleontologists believe that like other members of its family, Therizinosaurus had a proportionally small skull bearing a horny beak atop its long neck, a bipedal gait, a large belly to process its plant-based diet, and it was most likely covered in feathers.

Jurassic World Dominion’s interpretation of this animal is inspired by most of these traits.

It’s a bit larger than the real animal, having 12 meters (40 ft) in length and 6 meters (20 ft) in height, which is not unusual for this franchise.

This animal was in fact covered in feathers and it’s not unlikely that it might have acted aggressively towards an unknown threat.

Where Jurassic World Dominion seems to have dropped the ball is with this dinosaur’s head sculpt. The beak is too birdlike and its snout is too short, but overall it is one of the most accurate dinosaur designs in the latest installment of this franchise.

Being a theropod, Therizinosaurus most likely would have had acute eyesight, a trait that this animal would’ve needed to detect predators and other threats and to find food and other members of its species.

In this movie this dinosaur is portrayed as being blind, however, this seems to be due to an incident that happened off-screen involving that particular animal, and not a characteristic common to all in-world Therizinosaurus.

Therizinosaurus was an odd and fascinating dinosaur that questioned our understanding of theropod evolution. Its discovery opened up a new wave of research for paleontologists and other scientists interested in the ecology of this long-lost world.   

Dez Anos de Bloguer

Coelho Amarelo

Como uma Fénix que não renasce das cinzas

Azul, cor da água, do céu, do calmo e da esperança. Água de onde a vida se proliferou, vinda do azul celestial depois de uma viagem longa, mais longa que qualquer viagem alguma vez feita. Vida que das chamas se ergueu para nelas voltar como uma Fénix que não renasce das cinzas. Não, não é aí que chegámos, nem iremos chegar. A Pomba Azul, a esperança, o futuro, a paz. Aquela luz que brilha no horizonte, tal como a estrela Polar guiou as velhas Naus dos descobrimentos, como coelhos na toca, nós agora ascendemos a uma nova realidade de um azul vivo e pacífico que nos guia eternamente, até á ultima chama se apagar, e a Fénix voar o seu último voo.

Manifesto Blue Dove

Dez anos. Faz hoje dez anos que publiquei o meu primeiro artigo na blogosfera. Era 15 de Dezembro de 2004, uma noite de quarta-feira não muito diferente de uma outra qualquer. A minha presença online resumia-se a dois sites, o Coelho Amarelo e o Paleo World, o primeiro criado como página pessoal dedicada à minha turma do Secundário, e o segundo como um projecto de uma base de dados sobre as diversas espécies de Therizinosaurus até então descobertas.

Dias antes tinha criado o Blue Dove na plataforma de blogues do Sapo. A ideia, e o nome, surgiram de uma breve prosa incoerente que escrevi para o Coelho Amarelo. Por entre essas linhas nasceu a ideia de criar um blogue, um conceito que na altura ainda não compreendia por inteiro. Dei-lhe o nome de Blue Dove, procurei online por um logótipo que se adequasse a ele, e escolhi um layout azul com aspectos marítimos, entre os templates do Sapo.

O Blue Dove durou pouco mais de um ano, com mais de cinquenta artigos publicados. Este blogue foi, ao longo de 2005, o meu diário pessoal, o meu porto de abrigo onde escrevia sobre tudo e mais alguma coisa. Foi lá que escrevi os meus primeiros contos, as minhas primeiras histórias, os meus primeiros poemas. Foi lá que nasceram rubricas como O 23 e Querido Diário, que ainda hoje se mantêm vivas neste espaço.

Foram dez anos e Quatrocentos e Quarenta e Quatro posts, divididos por sete blogues. O Blue Dove, o Story Writer, a Antologia do Eu, e o 25 de Julho, há muito já extintos, sobrevivem hoje no arquivo do A Flock of Blue Doves. O único, além deste, e do Mercúrio do Porto, que ainda mantenho activo, embora sem a periodicidade que, apesar de errática, o No Sense of Reason continua a praticar.

O meu primeiro artigo na blogosfera não foi um extenso ensaio filosófico, nem tão pouco uma crónica do dia-a-dia. Não foi um poema, ou um conto. Não foi uma entrada de diário, nem tão pouco possuía algo de intimamente pessoal. Não. O primeiro texto que alguma vez publiquei era sim, sobre o Sporting CP. Um breve esclarecimento sobre como funcionava a classificação da Liga que, à data, não estava a ser respeitada pelos jornais desportivos.

Na altura não havia facebook, nem twitter, não havia outra forma de publicar um pensamento maior que uma simples frase. E o IRC ou o MSN Messenger não eram os locais ideais para o fazer. Entrei na blogosfera por sentir falta de espaço. Pela necessidade de dizer algo mais, de projectar uma ideia e concretizá-la. Sem qualquer limite de caracteres ou espaço, e eventualmente, com a possibilidade de a alimentar com imagens, som e até mesmo vídeo.

O Blue Dove nasceu de uma necessidade, mas mantém-se ainda hoje vivo por algo bem mais profundo. Não é um simples blogue extinto, é uma Fénix renascida. Com uma nova vida, um novo design, um novo conceito. Hoje não é uma Dove solitária, mas sim uma Flock of Blue Doves.

Dez anos passaram e continuo a escrever. Para mim, para outros. Para quem quiser e gostar de me ler. Escrevo porque sim. Porque gosto. Porque não há sentido, ou razão. Apenas porque escrevo.

Quatrocentos e Quarenta e Quatro posts, entre Crónicas, Introspecção, Contos, Poemas, Momentos, Notícias, Reportagens, Vídeos e Imagens. Foram projectos que ficaram pelo caminho. Foram textos que ficaram por escrever. Foram datas que ficaram por assinalar. Foram dez anos. Vão ser muitos mais.

Hoje é dia 15 de Dezembro de 2014. Há dez anos publiquei o meu primeiro artigo no meu primeiro blogue. Hoje, escrevo mais uma página num livro sem sentido. Perpétuo, infinito, eterno. Tão contínuo e constante como qualquer linha sem senso, nem razão. Pois faço hoje dez anos, mas serão ainda muitos mais.

Believe in me, and I’ll believe in you!