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mixed diet

Therizinosauridae

Unknown range

Therizinosaurids descend from carnivorous theropod ancestors but evolved toward a herbivorous or omnivorous diet, and their anatomy shows it: small, leaf-shaped teeth suited to processing plants, a wide, potbellied torso presumably housing a long digestive tract, and enormous, slightly curved hand claws -- among the longest of any known animal relative to body size -- whose exact function (defense, foraging, or display) is still debated.

The family's namesake genus, Therizinosaurus, is known mostly from its dramatic claws, among the longest ever found on any animal, while more complete skeletons of relatives like Nothronychus have filled in the rest of the family's genuinely bizarre body plan. Therizinosaurids are known from Cretaceous Asia and North America and remain one of the clearest examples of a meat-eating dinosaur lineage evolving away from carnivory entirely.

Meet the giants

12 genera, ordered oldest to newest — the evolutionary line, not the alphabet.

GenusPeriodMax weightHeightDietRegion
EshanosaurusTherizinosauridae201.4–199.5 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
SuzhousaurusTherizinosauridae121.4–110.1 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
NanshiungosaurusTherizinosauridae113.2–66 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
TiantaisaurusTherizinosauridae106.3–100.5 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
EnigmosaurusTherizinosauridae100.5–83.6 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
DuonychusTherizinosauridae100.5–83.6 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
SegnosaurusTherizinosauridae100.5–83.6 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
NothronychusTherizinosauridae93.9–89.8 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownNorth America
NeimongosaurusTherizinosauridae85.7–72.2 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
ParalitherizinosaurusTherizinosauridae83.6–72.2 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
ErliansaurusTherizinosauridae83.6–72.2 MYAUnknownUnknownUnknownAsia
TherizinosaurusTherizinosauridae72.2–66 MYA~5 t~4 mherbivoreAsia

Weight and height are best estimates from published research, not exact measurements — sauropod mass in particular varies by method and specimen. Most genera below are newly classified and still awaiting full measurements.

Further reading