TheropodaTherizinosauria

Falcarius utahensis

Falcarius utahensis skeletal reconstruction, left lateral view, reconstructed length ~4 m.
Scale bar = 1 meter
Taxon
Falcarius utahensis Kirkland et al., 2005
Reconstructed length
~4.1 m (13 feet)
View
Left lateral
Drawing
© Scott Hartman
Drawn
2010, revised 2022
Clade
  1. Theropoda
  2. Tetanurae
  3. Coelurosauria
  4. Maniraptoriformes
  5. Maniraptora
  6. Therizinosauria

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Falcarius was a primitive therizinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Utah. While later therizinosaurs would become pot-bellied plant-eaters, Falcarius captures an early, omnivorous stage in the shift from meat-eating toward plant-eating. Falcarius combined a long neck and leaf-shaped teeth with still-sharp raptorial claws, and presumably hunted small vertebrates and invertebrates, while also selecting nutrient-dense portions of plants to consume.