Erlikosaurus

Erlik lizard

• Erlik · Turkic/Mongolian mythology · Erlik Khan, the lord of the underworld or death
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name refers to Erlik, the Mongolian/Turkic god or lord of the underworld and death, combined with the Greek word for lizard. It was chosen with reference to the animal's fearsome, death-dealing claws and its Mongolian home. The animal was a therizinosaur, a group of unusual, long-clawed, plant-eating theropods.

Named by

Perle

Year named

1980

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stages

Cenomanian – Turonian

Found in

Bayan Shireh Formation, Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia

A therizinosaurian theropod. The type species is Erlikosaurus andrewsi, named for Roy Chapman Andrews. It is known from a well-preserved skull and some postcranial material. Its stage range is approximate, and the original authorship is attributed to Barsbold and Perle (1980).