Duonychus, new two-fingered therizinosaur from Late Cretaceous of Mongolia (free pdf)
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Ben Creisler
Mar 25, 2025, 10:52:47 AM3/25/25
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Ben Creisler
A new paper finally out (after buzz on the internet):
Free pdf:
Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Darla K. Zelenitsky, Anthony R. Fiorillo & Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig (2025)
Didactyl therizinosaur with a preserved keratinous claw from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia
iScience (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112141
https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)00401-8
Free pdf:
https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2589-0042%2825%2900401-8
Highlights
Duonychus tsogtbaatari is described as another therizinosaur from Mongolia
It is a didactyl therizinosaur, possessing only two manual digits
A keratinous sheath on digit I provides rare insight into theropod claw structure
Duonychus reveals convergent digit III loss in at least five theropod clades
Summary
Therizinosaurs were a group of herbivorous/omnivorous theropod dinosaurs that lived in Asia and North America during the Cretaceous Period. These theropods are notable for their three-fingered hands sporting large claw-like unguals. Here, we describe a new and unusual species of the therizinosaurid Duonychus tsogtbaatari, recovered from the lower Upper Cretaceous Bayanshiree Formation of the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. This species is different from other therizinosaurs in that the hand possesses only two fingers, rather than three fingers, the typical condition for Avetheropoda, providing further insight into forelimb/hand reduction among theropods. Phylogenetically, Duonychus reveals a broader but still limited appearance of didactyly among avetheropodans. The manual ungual of Duonychus tsogtbaatari also preserves a nearly complete three-dimensional structure covering the ungual of the left manual digit I, which represents a keratinous manual claw. The strong curvature of this large claw and high ungual flexion indicate that Duonychus was likely amplectorial (grasping) and an effective grasper of vegetation, despite having only two functional fingers.
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News:
Free pdf:
Duonychus tsogtbaatari gen. et sp. nov.
Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Darla K. Zelenitsky, Anthony R. Fiorillo & Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig (2025)
Didactyl therizinosaur with a preserved keratinous claw from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia
iScience (advance online publication)
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112141
https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)00401-8
Free pdf:
https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2589-0042%2825%2900401-8
Highlights
Duonychus tsogtbaatari is described as another therizinosaur from Mongolia
It is a didactyl therizinosaur, possessing only two manual digits
A keratinous sheath on digit I provides rare insight into theropod claw structure
Duonychus reveals convergent digit III loss in at least five theropod clades
Summary
Therizinosaurs were a group of herbivorous/omnivorous theropod dinosaurs that lived in Asia and North America during the Cretaceous Period. These theropods are notable for their three-fingered hands sporting large claw-like unguals. Here, we describe a new and unusual species of the therizinosaurid Duonychus tsogtbaatari, recovered from the lower Upper Cretaceous Bayanshiree Formation of the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. This species is different from other therizinosaurs in that the hand possesses only two fingers, rather than three fingers, the typical condition for Avetheropoda, providing further insight into forelimb/hand reduction among theropods. Phylogenetically, Duonychus reveals a broader but still limited appearance of didactyly among avetheropodans. The manual ungual of Duonychus tsogtbaatari also preserves a nearly complete three-dimensional structure covering the ungual of the left manual digit I, which represents a keratinous manual claw. The strong curvature of this large claw and high ungual flexion indicate that Duonychus was likely amplectorial (grasping) and an effective grasper of vegetation, despite having only two functional fingers.
****
News:
Ben Creisler
Mar 26, 2025, 4:12:32 PM3/26/25
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
News:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/weird-new-dinosaur-therizinosaur-claws-sloth
https://ladailypost.com/paleontologist-from-new-mexico-museum-of-natural-history-science-part-of-team-naming-new-species-of-clawed-dinosaur/
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-paleontologist-part-of-discovery-of-new-dinosaur-with-30-centimetre-claws
https://phys.org/news/2025-03-giant-claw-unearthed-mongolia-species.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7v3eln56no
https://www.iflscience.com/new-species-of-90-million-year-old-therizinosaur-shocks-scientists-with-unusual-trait-never-seen-before-78547
https://ladailypost.com/paleontologist-from-new-mexico-museum-of-natural-history-science-part-of-team-naming-new-species-of-clawed-dinosaur/
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-paleontologist-part-of-discovery-of-new-dinosaur-with-30-centimetre-claws
https://phys.org/news/2025-03-giant-claw-unearthed-mongolia-species.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7v3eln56no
https://www.iflscience.com/new-species-of-90-million-year-old-therizinosaur-shocks-scientists-with-unusual-trait-never-seen-before-78547
Ben Creisler
Aug 23, 2025, 4:14:58 PM8/23/25
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
A correction and updated citation:
Correction:
Free pdf:
Correction:
Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Darla K. Zelenitsky, Anthony R. Fiorillo & Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig (2025)
Didactyl therizinosaur with a preserved keratinous claw from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia
iScience 28(9): 113214
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113214
https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)01475-0
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113214
https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)01475-0
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225014750
In the originally published version of this article, the authors did not include the required registration in ZooBank as stipulated by Article 8.5.3 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 2012) and therefore did not provide the necessary life science identifiers (LSIDs). The “materials availability” section has now been updated online, and with this correction, Duonychus tsogtbaatari is now available and published in accordance with the ICZN code, effective from the date of this notice.
In the originally published version of this article, the authors did not include the required registration in ZooBank as stipulated by Article 8.5.3 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 2012) and therefore did not provide the necessary life science identifiers (LSIDs). The “materials availability” section has now been updated online, and with this correction, Duonychus tsogtbaatari is now available and published in accordance with the ICZN code, effective from the date of this notice.
The authors apologize for the inconvenience and assure that this correction note does not alter the main findings and conclusions of the manuscript.
The publication and the nomenclatural acts are registered in ZooBank, under the following LSIDs:
•
ZooBank LSID for the publication: ∗∗urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7294E6FE-2202-418F-ABEF-663125E21608∗∗
•
ZooBank LSID for the genus Duonychus: ∗∗urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CA8C7CA5-850C-4428-BFF5-9DA6E86A0B06∗∗
•
ZooBank LSID for the species Duonychus tsogtbaatari: ∗∗urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D0399BA6-4484-458F-A6B4-3CFF59505FE2∗∗
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Duonychus tsogtbaatari gen. et sp. nov.
Yoshitsugu Kobayashi, Darla K. Zelenitsky, Anthony R. Fiorillo & Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig (2025)
Didactyl therizinosaur with a preserved keratinous claw from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia
On Tue, Mar 25, 2025 at 7:52 AM Ben Creisler <bcre...@gmail.com> wrote:
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