Segnosaurus
Segnosaurus was a big, slow-moving dinosaur with a small head, a long neck, and huge claws on its hands. It used its beak to nibble plants and its big belly to digest them. Unlike most meat-eating dinosaurs, this one was a gentle giant that ate only plants.1
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Fun facts
Segnosaurus had four toes on each foot, while most other meat-eating dinosaurs had only three.1
Its name means 'slow lizard' because scientists thought it was a slow-moving animal.1
Segnosaurus lived about 102 to 86 million years ago in what is now Mongolia.1
It had a horny beak at the tip of its jaws, like a bird, to help it eat plants.1
Some of its teeth had extra ridges and even a third cutting edge, which is unusual for a plant-eater.1
Segnosaurus was probably covered in simple, fluffy feathers, like its relatives Beipiaosaurus and Jianchangosaurus.1
Most asked questions about Segnosaurus
?How big was Segnosaurus?
Segnosaurus was about 6 to 7 metres (20 to 23 feet) long and weighed about 1.3 tonnes (1.4 short tons), though one 2020 study estimated it at 4.17 tonnes (4.6 short tons).1
?What did Segnosaurus eat?
It was mainly herbivorous, using its beak and small teeth to eat plants, and its big belly to digest them.1
?Did Segnosaurus have feathers?
Yes, it probably had simple, fluffy feathers, like its relatives Beipiaosaurus and Jianchangosaurus.1
?When did Segnosaurus live?
It lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 102 to 86 million years ago, in what is now Mongolia.1
?Why is it called Segnosaurus?
Its name means 'slow lizard' because scientists thought it was a slow-moving animal.1
?Was Segnosaurus a dinosaur?
Yes, it was a theropod dinosaur, specifically a therizinosaurid.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Segnosaurus
- Named by
- Perle 19793
- Group
- Odd feathered dinos
- Family / clade
- Therizinosauridae3
- Classification
- Theropoda > Therizinosauria3
- Age of the rocks
- 100 to 84 million years (Cenomanian / Santonian)3
- Rock formations
- Baynshire, Jobu3
- Countries
- Mongolia, Japan3
- Fossil records
- 6 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Segnosaurus was named by Mongolian paleontologist Altangerel Perle in 1979, based on fossils found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how big Segnosaurus was, because different studies give very different weight estimates, from about 1.3 tonnes to over 4 tonnes.1
Where the facts come from
- Segnosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Segnosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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