So, I’m not sure if I will do all of my blog on dinosaurs but a lot will probably be on them. This is one of the more bizarre looking ones found in what is now Mongolia during the Cretaceous period, the last part of the age of the dinosaurs. Therizinosaurus looks like if someone caught Big Bird on a bad day, it was bipedal and had three long claws on each hand that grew to one meter in length. It used these claws like how a sloth uses its claws, to strip leaves off of trees which at standing around six meters tall and nine meters long, was not a challenging feat. So despite how intimidating it looked, it was strictly a herbivore which is why it evolved a long neck to reach trees and fruits. While no complete skeleton exists of this species, they have been able to guess at what it looked liked based off of other members of the same family. It walked on two legs and had wide bird like hips which gave it a broad body so it probably walked something like a duck. Another unique thing about it’s skeleton is that it has four toes, most other theropods had three with the fourth two being a smaller toe on the side of its leg, so it having four evenly sized toes is very peculiar.
However, this dinosaur was not a passive herbivore, its large claws were more than likely also used as a defense mechanism. It’s large stature and long claws made it a formidable prey for any large carnivore in the area such as Tarbosaurus. It’s body a patchwork of various dinosaurs probably allowed it to survive in various climates and seasons of the time. Just like Dakotaraptor, Therizinosaurs was more than likely covered in feathers as well, making it look even more like a deadly big bird. Despite being a herbivore, I would never want to run into the prehistoric equivalent of Freddy Krueger even if he was eating a salad, much like this guy.
here is it compared to a human.
here is it in its hypothesized natural habitat.
The blog on dinosaurs must continue. It is necessary. I honestly feel like I learn a good amount about dinosaurs, although I am fairly certain I could just find the same information on Wikipedia. Is that correct? Either way, the Cretaceous period is always interesting in the world of dinosaurs. The Therizinosaurus, or Bad-Day Big Bird, as named, was quite the predator. Although its claws were sloth like, there was certainly no connection between sloths and the Therizinosaurus. The sloths, however, are quite the creature. Did you know? Sloths mistakenly grab their arms instead of the branches of a tree, and they occasionally fall to their deaths. Sloths also only use the bathroom once a week. According to science, sloths do not actually move slowly¬–everything else is moving very fast. We all are moving fast around the sloths, for the sloths are the only ones moving normal speed. Sloths, man.
ReplyDeleteOr is it that the Sloth is so fast that it is slow? Also did you know that porcupines when they fall land on their backs? So tragic..
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Will, I find it super awesome that you know so much about this topic and have a passion for it. I encourage you to keep writing about it. I think its a shame that we never really get a chance to cover any of this material in class. Our history curriculum is mainly centered around humanity and the present day, and we never really touch on prehistoric times. There are so many things that we have learned about the past that is not taught to us. It is amazing how much we can know about these creatures from their bones - behavior, diet, appearance, etc. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn more about it!
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