Falcarius utahensis is a newly exposed dinosaur species found in east-central Utah, in the United States, in 2005. Its name is resulting from the word sickle (a "falcarius" being in Latin a sickle cutter), which scientists have used to explain its unwieldy clawed hands. This find, along with the recently exposed therizinosauroid Beipiaosaurus from the Early Cretaceous of China, may clarify the group's relationship with the better family of theropod dinosaurs.
The discovery site, in a 0.8 ha (2 acre) area of Utah's Cedar Mountain Formation, includes the leftovers of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of specimens of the new species. Only a small number of the obtainable fossils have been excavated. A skeletal mount of Falcarius utahensis were displayed at the Utah Museum of Natural History. From examining fossilized bones from more than a few individual animals, scientists describe the dinosaurs as feathered, rotund, sickle-clawed creatures. Falcarius utahensis averaged 3.7-4 m (12-13 ft) in length and just over 1.2 m (4 ft) tall. With its long neck, it could it seems that reach about 1.5 m (5 ft) off the ground to munch leaves or fruit. Its leaf-shaped teeth and 10-13 cm (4-5 inch) claws indicate that it inspired both meat, quite probably small animals such as lizards, and plant material.
Falcarius utahensis facts:
Name:
Falcarius utahensis means "Sickle cutter"
Size:
12 to 13 feet long and over 4 feet tall
Main Facts:
It consumed both meat, quite probably small animals such as lizards, and plant material.
