New Dinosaur With Huge Claws And Bizarre Features Discovered In China

A new dinosaur discovered in China reportedly had a combination of features that would have made it look unusual even by dinosaur standards.

Dubbed Kayrasaurus changliensis, the newly discovered species belonged to Therizinosauria, a group of theropod dinosaurs known for their unusual anatomy and gigantic hand claws. According to scientists, the animal lived about 125 million years ago and was more than 11 feet long, making it the largest known therizinosaurian.

The discovery is based on a nearly complete skeleton found in the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. The skeleton is particularly valuable because much of the skull and hand anatomy was preserved, which offers archaeologists an unusually detailed look at an early member of this strange subset of dinosaurs.

Meet Kayrasaurus Changliensis

The recently discovered dinosaur derives its name from several references. Kayra comes from Kayra, a mythical creator in Turkic Shamanism, while saurus is Greek for lizard. The species name changliensis refers to Changli, the historic name of the region where the fossil was uncovered.

Archaeologists agree that the dinosaur belonged to a group of theropods that looked remarkably different from the stereotypical meat-eating dinosaur. Instead of having massive heads and short arms like the Tyrannosaurus rex that most people think of when they picture carnivorous dinosaurs, the Kayrasaurus changliensis had a small head, a long neck, a wide body, and huge claws. It’s believed that some of the later members of the species were herbivores, meaning they ate plants instead of meat. This fact makes their anatomy even more unusual.

The Fossil Was Nearly Complete