Newly Discovered Dinosaur Shares Traits with Modern Sloths

Swift Summary

• Therizinosaur dinosaurs, peculiar plant-eating reptiles descended from carnivores, had fuzzy feathered bodies, large claws, and bulbous stomachs for vegetation digestion.
• A newly discovered therizinosaur species named Duonychus tsogtbaatari was unearthed in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert; it dates back over 90 million years.
• Unlike other therizinosaurs with three fingers, Duonychus had just two fingers on each hand with preserved keratin sheaths-a first for large theropod fossils. The genus name means “double claw.”
• Scientists estimate the talons were curved and used for grasping vegetation around four inches thick, similar to how modern two-toed sloths handle foliage.
• Evolutionary digit reduction across theropod dinosaurs shows variability in finger loss depending on specific ecological pressures or feeding strategies.

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