Therizinosaurus

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***Therizinosaurus*** is a genus of therizinosaurid dinosaur in the *Jurassic World Evolution* series. Recognizable via its large scythe-like claws, it originated from Late Cretaceous Asia. It is part of the *Dominion Biosyn Expansion*.

## History

While InGen was not known to have cloned *Therizinosaurus* for either Jurassic Park or Jurassic World, by 2012, the company had possession of the herbivore's genetic material. This was later used, along with the DNA of numerous other species, to create the genetically modified superpredator known as the *Indominus rex*, which was responsible for the destruction of Jurassic World in 2015.

A *Therizinosaurus* was present in the sanctuary created by BioSyn, and it stalked Claire Dearing when she landed in its territory before losing interest. The *Therizinosaurus* was later provoked by Kayla Watts to aid the *Tyrannosaurus* in fighting and killing the *Giganotosaurus*, allowing Owen Grady, Claire Dearing, Maisie Lockwood, and Ramsay Cole to board the helicopter alongside Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, and Henry Wu.

## Characteristics

The largest and namesake of the therizinosaurids, weighing more than 5,000 kg, *Therizinosaurus* is a genus of herbivorous dinosaur from the therizinosaurid family that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. As with other members of its family, *Therizinosaurus* has a long neck ending in relatively small head and hands ending in three enormous claws on its forearms as well as feathers covering most of its body. Believed to have had the longest claws of any animal in existence, its name translates to "*Scythe Lizard*", in reference to its large claws at over 50cm.

### Behaviour

*Therizinosaurus* is a large theropod that is very territorial. Despite being an herbivore, it won't hesitate to attack and kill any potential opponent in its enclosure.

## Paleontology

*Therizinosaurus* was a very large therizinosaurid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were found in 1948 by a Mongolian field expedition, the USSR Academy of Sciences, during an excavation of the Nemegt Formation at the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Its most distinctive feature was the gigantic claws on each of the three digits on its hands. While these were common with therizinosaurs, *Therizinosaurus* had the longest of any known terrestrial animal. Originally, these claws were believed to have been rib bones belonging to a species of giant turtle-like creature. In 1968, when more fossils were discovered, paleontologists then began to believe that *Therizinosaurus* was a carnivorous dinosaur, due to the size and shape of the claws. Sometime between the 1980's and 1990's, *Therizinosaurus* was then discovered to have a prosauropod-like body structure, leading to the theory that it was a herbivorous dinosaur. These longs claws are speculated to be for feeding as well as intimidation and potentially defense. It used its claws, strong arms, and long neck to browse foliage.

### Paleoecology

*Therizinosaurus* lived around 72-66 million years ago, roaming near rivers and woodlands in search of vegetation that would have possessed various bodies of water, from rivers to marshlands. Its long neck and pointed beak suggest that *Therizinosaurus'* diet consisted of high-level vegetation such as tree branches and large shrubs. It shared its environment with a variety of other animals; among them dinosaurs like *Gallimimus*, *Homalocephale*, and the apex predator *Tarbosaurus*.

## External Links

* Therizinosaurus on Wikipedia

1. ↑ *Indominus rex*. Jurassic World. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017.
2. ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2015). *Jurassic World* [Film]. Universal Pictures.
3. ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2022). *Jurassic World Dominion* [Film]. Universal Pictures.