NothronychusNothronychus (meaning "slothful claw") is a genus of therizinosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period. The type species, Nothronychus mckinleyi, was described by James Kirkland and Douglas G. Wolfe in 2001. It was recovered near New Mexico's border with Arizona, in an area known as the Zuni Basin, from rocks assigned to the Moreno Hill Formation, dating to the late Cretaceous period (mid-Turonian stage), around 92 million years ago.
Timeline of therizinosaur researchThe timeline of therizinosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on therizinosaurs. They were unusually long-necked, pot-bellied, and large-clawed herbivorous theropods most closely related to birds. The early history of therizinosaur research occurred in three phases. The first phase was the discovery of scanty and puzzling fossils in Asia by the Central Asiatic Expeditions of the and Soviet-backed research in the .
NanshiungosaurusNanshiungosaurus (meaning "Nanxiong's lizard") is a genus of therizinosaurid that lived in what is now Asia during the Late Cretaceous of South China. The type species, Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus, was first discovered in 1974 and described in 1979 by Dong Zhiming. It is represented by a single specimen preserving most of the cervical and dorsal vertebrae with the pelvis. A supposed and unlikely second species, "Nanshiungosaurus" bohlini, was found in 1992 and described in 1997.
ErlikosaurusErlikosaurus (meaning "Erlik's lizard") is a genus of therizinosaurid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The fossils, a skull and some post-cranial fragments, were found in the Bayan Shireh Formation of Mongolia in 1972, dating to around 96 million and 89 million years ago. These remains were later described by Altangerel Perle and Rinchen Barsbold in 1980, naming the new genus and species Erlikosaurus andrewsi.
TherizinosaurusTherizinosaurus (ˌθɛrəˌzɪnoʊ-ˈsɔːrəs; meaning 'scythe lizard') is a genus of very large therizinosaurid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now the Nemegt Formation around 70 million years ago. It contains a single species, Therizinosaurus cheloniformis. The first remains of Therizinosaurus were found in 1948 by a Mongolian field expedition at the Gobi Desert and later described by Evgeny Maleev in 1954.
TherizinosauridaeTherizinosauridae (meaning 'scythe lizards') is a family of derived (advanced) therizinosauroid dinosaurs whose fossil remains have been found in mostly Late Cretaceous boundary. Even though representative fossils have only been found throughout Asia and North America, the range of Therizinosauridae is believed to have spanned much of the supercontinent of Laurasia based on several footprints and isolated remains in Europe and Africa. Currently, Therizinosauridae comprises eight described and named taxa.
SegnosaurusSegnosaurus is a genus of therizinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now southeastern Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous, about 102–86 million years ago. Multiple incomplete but well-preserved specimens were discovered in the Gobi Desert in the 1970s, and in 1979 the genus and species Segnosaurus galbinensis were named. The generic name Segnosaurus means "slow lizard" and the specific name galbinensis refers to the Galbin region. The known material of this dinosaur includes the lower jaw, neck and tail vertebrae, the pelvis, shoulder girdle, and limb bones.
AlxasaurusAlxasaurus (ˌɑːlʃəˈsɔːrəs; meaning "Alxa lizard") is a genus of therizinosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous (Albian age) Bayin-Gobi Formation of Inner Mongolia. The fossil remains were first discovered in 1988 and described by the Canadian paleontologist Dale Russell and his Chinese colleague Dong Zhiming in 1993. However, although the paper is technically included in the last issue of the 1993 volume of the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, this issue was actually released in the early weeks of 1994.
EnigmosaurusEnigmosaurus (meaning "Enigma lizard" or "Enigmatic lizard") is a genus of therizinosauroid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. It was a medium-sized, ground-dwelling, bipedal herbivore that represents the third therizinosaur taxon from the Bayan Shireh Formation, although it is known from the lower part. The genus is monotypic, including only the type species E. mongoliensis, known from a well preserved pelvis and other tentative body remains.
BeipiaosaurusBeipiaosaurus ˌbeɪpjaʊˈsɔːrəs is a genus of therizinosauroid theropod dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Early Cretaceous in the Yixian Formation. The first remains were found in 1996 and formally described in 1999. Before the discovery of Yutyrannus, Beipiaosaurus were among the heaviest dinosaurs known from direct evidence to be feathered. Beipiaosaurus is known from three reported specimens. Numerous impressions of feather structures were preserved that allowed researchers to determine the feathering color which, turned out to be brownish.
