Unique Two-clawed Dinosaur Discovered

A uncommon caller type of two-clawed dinosaur has been discovered by scientists successful Mongolia's Gobi Desert.

The species, named Duonychus tsogtbaatari, was unsocial wrong a group of dinosaurs called Therizinosaurs, which stood connected their hind legs and usually had 3 claws.

It was medium-sized, pinch an estimated weight of astir 260kg.

Researchers judge nan species' long, curved claws and its expertise to powerfully flex them would person made it an businesslike grasper of vegetation.

Therizinosaurs were a group of either herbivorous aliases omnivorous theropod dinosaurs that lived successful Asia and North America during nan Cretaceous Period, which began 145 cardinal years agone and ended 66 cardinal years ago.

They are exemplified by nan massive, long-clawed shape Therizinosaurus, featured successful nan movie Jurassic World Dominion, and were "awkward looking", according to 1 of nan study's authors Dr Darla Zelenitsky, subordinate professor astatine nan University of Calgary.

The specimen was recovered from nan Bayanshiree statement successful nan Gobi Desert of Mongolia, which dates backmost to nan Late Cretaceous play (between 100.5 to 66 cardinal years ago).

Unesco, nan UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, calls nan Mongolian Gobi Desert nan largest dinosaur fossil reservoir successful nan world.

The region is an particularly important root of fossils from nan later Cretaceous period, which is nan past of nan main 3 periods of nan dinosaur age, representing nan last shape of dinosaur evolution.

At astir a ft long, nan claws themselves were overmuch larger than their underlying bone, nan study revealed.

Besides amended grasping, nan two-fingered hands whitethorn person been utilized for display, digging, aliases arsenic formidable weapons.

The astir celebrated two-fingered theropods are type wrong nan group tyrannosaurids, which includes Tyrannosaurus rex, but Duonychus evolved its two-fingered hands separately from them and from different two-fingered theropods.

The specimen besides preserves nan first keratinous sheath of a therizinosaur, an constituent that covers nan claw overmuch for illustration quality fingernails, aiding defence, movement, aliases prey catching.