In Depth
Fossils of this dinosaur were actually first mentioned in a scientific paper published in 2008, but it would not be until 2022 that they were formally described as a distinct genus. Paralitherizinosaurus is a genus of therizinosaurid dinosaur that lived in South East Asia during the late Cretaceous. Although established upon the description of just a few bone fossils, comparison to better preserved relative genera allows us to infer that Paralitherizinosaurus was a bipedal herbivore with very long claws on its hands. These claws may have been aids to help Paralitherizinosaurus to feed.
Further reading
- A theropod dinosaur (Saurischia: Maniraptora) from the Upper Cretaceous Yezo Group of Hokkaido, Northern Japan. - Paleontological Research. 12 (4): 421–425. - Mizuki Murakami, Ren Hirayama, Yoshinori Hikida & Hiromichi Hirano - 2008.
- New therizinosaurid dinosaur from the marine Osoushinai Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Japan) provides insight for function and evolution of therizinosaur claws. - Scientific Reports. 12 (7207). - Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Ryuji Takasaki, Anthony R. Fiorillo, Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig & Yoshinori Hikida - 2022.
