Therizinosauridae

Taxobox
name = Therizinosaurids
fossil_range = Late Cretaceous

---

image_width = 200px
image_caption = "Nothronychus".
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Saurischia
subordo = Theropoda
superfamilia = Therizinosauroidea
familia = Therizinosauridae
familia_authority = Maleev, 1954
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision ="See text."
synonyms =
* Segnosauridae Perle, 1979
* Enigmosauridae Barsbold & Perle, 1983
* Nanshiungosauridae Dong & Yu, 1997
* Erlikosauridae Ryan & Russell, 2001

Therizinosauridae ("reaper lizards") is a family of advanced herbivorous or omnivorous theropod dinosaurs. Therizinosaurid fossil remains have been recovered from mid-late Cretaceous Period deposits from Mongolia, China, and the United States.

Classification

The family Therizinosauridae was coined by Evgeny Maleev in 1954 to contain the enigmatic "Therizinosaurus cheloniformis", which Maleev originally thought to be a species of giant "turtle-like lizard."Maleev, E. (1954). "New turtle-like reptile in Mongolia." "Priroda", 1954: 106-108.] Subsequent studies found that "Therizinosaurus" was actually a bizarre theropod, and that the equally enigmatic segnosaurids were close relatives. Since the family Therizinosauridae was named earlier than Segnosauridae, the later name became a junior synonym of the former, which has taxonomic priority. Therizinosauridae was first given a phylogenetic definition by Paul Sereno in 1998, who defined it as all dinosaurs closer to "Erlikosaurus" than to "Ornithomimus". As the relationship of therizinosaurids to other theropods clarified and more members of the larger therizinosaur group were found, a more restrictive definition has come to be preferred for the family-level name Therizinosauridae. Sereno himself, for example, re-defined the name in 2005 as the clade containing "Therizinosaurus cheloniformis", "Nothronychus mckinleyi", and "Neimongosaurus yangi". Sereno, P. C. 2005. [http://www.taxonsearch.org/Archive/stem-archosauria-1.0.php Stem Archosauria—TaxonSearch] [version 1.0, 2005 November 7] ]

Taxonomy

*Family Therizinosauridae
**"Enigmosaurus"
**"Erliansaurus"
**"Erlikosaurus"
**"Neimongosaurus"
**"Nothronychus"
**"Segnosaurus"
**"Therizinosaurus" (type)

Phylogeny

The cladogram presented here follows a 2007 phylogenetic analysis by Phil Senter.Senter, P. (2007). "A new look at the phylogeny of Coelurosauria (Dinosauria: Theropoda)." "Journal of Systematic Palaeontology", (doi|10.1017/S1477201907002143).]

clade| style=font-size:100%;line-height:80%
label1=Therizinosauridae
1=clade
1="Erliansaurus"
2="Nothronychus"
label3= unnamed
3=clade
1="Neimongosaurus"
label2= unnamed
2=clade
1="Segnosaurus"
label2= unnamed
2=clade
1="Erlikosaurus"
2="Therizinosaurus"

References