Therizinosaurus vs T-Rex: Who Would Win in a Fight

In the newest Jurassic World movie, Jurassic World Dominion, we get to see an unlikely “partnership” between two amazing and ancient predators. Near the end of the film, we see what happens when a Therizinosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus rex team up in order to beat the Giganotosaurus in a final battle. Although the Therizinosaurus and the Tyrannosaurus rex team up, it kind of makes you wonder what would happen if both of them decided to fight! Well, today, that’s exactly what we are going to find out.

Let’s discover: Therizinosaurus vs T-Rex: Who Would Win in a Fight?

Setting up the fight

In Jurassic World Dominion, we get a look at one of the newest and scariest dinosaurs to have ever graced the screen: Therizinosaurus. Therizinosaurus’s name translates as “scythe lizard” due to its massive claws on its front two legs. In the film, these claws essentially act as swords, able to slice through anything that it sees fit.

The Tyrannosaurus rex, however, isn’t new to anyone. We all know what a T-rex is and love to see them in films every time we get the chance. In Jurassic World Dominion, the T-rex is captured and brought to the Biosyn Sanctuary, where all the dinosaurs can live within relative safety, away from human interference.

If these dinos were to meet, however, how would the fight go? Here are a few rules:

• the fight is to the death
• it takes place in a forest, jungle, or another similar biome that both creatures would be comfortable in
• the stats are based on real-life data on these dinosaurs, not just what the movies depicted

With that in mind, let’s get started!

Therizinosaurus vs T-Rex: Size

Therizinosaurus was a very large member of the therizinosaurid group that lived in Asia around the time T-rex was roaming the earth. Using the fossil remains found in the Mongolian Desert in 1948, scientists estimated that Therizinosaurus could grow to around 30-33 feet, was 13-16 feet tall, and weighed around 5 tons.

T-rex was one of the largest carnivores to ever live, by length, height, and mass. The species lived in modern-day North America, and many fossil examples exist today, giving scientists great insight into the size of these great lizards. Tyrannosaurus rex was likely between 40-41 feet in length, stood 12-13 feet tall at the hips, and weighed 8-14 tons.

Winner: Tyrannosaurus rex

Therizinosaurus vs T-Rex: Bite

Although the movie depicts a ferocious hunter, Therizinosaurus was actually an herbivore, meaning it ate plant material. As a result, it had a strong beak, not teeth. The horny beak is known as a rhamphotheca and was primarily used for processing food, not self-defense. Although its beak was rather large, it didn’t quite have the killing or gripping capabilities that a toothed mouth would have.

The T-rex is known for its mouth, especially its bite force. As a carnivorous hunter, biting and killing your food was quite important! Using the size of the skull, scientists were able to calculate its estimated bite force. In some bad news for the Therizinosaurus, the T-rex likely had the strongest bite of any terrestrial animal to have ever lived. Additionally, the mouth of a T-rex was filled with massive fangs that could inflict serious damage.

Winner: Tyrannosaurus rex

Therizinosaurus vs T-Rex: Speed

The film isn’t exactly consistent with how Therizinosaurus moved, but from what scientists can tell, it wouldn’t have been very fast. Therizinosaurus probably moved quite slowly since it was a browser, not a predator. Its speed would have been closer to other long-necked browsers of its time (think Brontosaurus speeds).

The T-rex was a predator that occasionally needed to put on bursts of speed to catch prey. There are certainly some estimations as to how fast the T-rex actually was, but most are somewhat similar to one another. Current projections place the top speed of a T-rex between 15 mph and 45 mph, with a good average of around 20 mph.

Winner: Tyrannosaurus rex

Therizinosaurus vs T-Rex: Killer instinct

Killer instinct makes all the difference in a fight to the death, especially one without any rules. Unfortunately, Therizinosaurus didn’t have much of a killer instinct. These slow-moving herbivores preferred to spend their day grazing, not fighting or killing.

The T-rex was a killer from birth. In fact, their name literally means “king of the tyrant lizards,” and they are some of the most ferocious predators to have ever lived. Killing was second nature to a T-rex.

Winner: Tyrannosaurus rex

Therizinosaurus vs T-Rex: Special abilities

In the movies, Therizinosaurus has some insane claws on its front legs, similar to Wolverine from the X-Men. Sadly, Therizinosaurus didn’t really have these in real life. Although they did have extremely long forelimbs with unguals (toe bones), these were designed to pull leaves closer as they grazed. The samurai swords-for-fingers depicted in the movie were quite a far cry from reality.

T-rex doesn’t really have any special ability, aside from its crushing bite and strong legs. Still, that is all it really needed in order to regularly kill prey!

Winner: Tyrannosaurus rex

Therizinosaurus vs T-Rex: Final Winner

A Tyrannosaurus rex would easily kill a Therizinosaurus in a fight.

In a complete blowout, Tyrannosaurus rex wins every single category and surely wins the fight. Although the movie depicted a quick, stealthy, sharp-clawed attacker, Therizinosaurus was just a slow-moving leaf-eater that has the same chances a sloth would have against a jaguar. If things in the movie were real, however, the odds would absolutely swing closer to the middle. As it stands, the T-rex is still king.

Final winner: Tyrannosaurus rex

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Herschel Hoffmeyer/Shutterstock.com