Dinosaurs A to Z
Therizinosauridae

Suzhousaurus megatherioides

"Suzhou lizard"

Generic theropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Suzhousaurus 6 m (19.7 ft) long
as long as 4 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic theropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Suzhousaurus
Length
6 m (19.7 ft)
Period
Early Cretaceous (124–113 Mya)
Place
China
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Therizinosauridae Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Coelurosauria Pot-bellied theropods with giant claws — secondarily plant-eating.

Suzhousaurus (meaning “Suzhou lizard”) is an extinct genus of large therizinosaurid dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous of China. The genus is known from two specimens discovered in the Xiagou and Zhonggou Formations, both part of the Xinminbao Group. These findings were made during fieldwork in 1999 and 2004.

Though Suzhousaurus is known from these two specimens, an earlier named and described therizinosauroid from the adjacent basin, “Nanshiungosaurus” bohlini, may be synonymous with the former. However, Suzhousaurus can not be compared to this species due to non-overlapping material and the loss of the same. Moreover, this synonymy will result in Suzhousaurus bohlini with “N”. bohlini having priority.

What we know

  • Named by Li et al. 2007.
  • Body length estimated at about 6 m.
  • Fossils found in China.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Suzhousaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.