'Chicken from Hell' Dinosaur, Anzu Wyliei, Could have Eaten Humans

Thanks to scientists from Carnegie and Smithsonian museums, as well as the University of Utah, they've discovered something quite interesting for its time: A 'chicken from hell' dinosaur. According to researchers, this sharp-clawed, 500 pound , bird-like dinosaur roamed the Dakotas with T. rex around 66 million years ago and could have easily eaten humans, at a length of around 11.5 feet.

"It was a giant raptor, but with a chicken-like head and presumably feathers. The animal stood about 10 feet tall, so it would be scary as well as absurd to encounter," said University of Utah biology postdoctoral fellow Emma Schachner, a co-author of a new study of the dinosaur, via a press release.

This dinosaur's former name--Anzu Wyliei--was excavated from the uppermost level of the Hell Creek rock formation in North and South Dakota. This is a formation known for abundant fossils of Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops. The recovered fossils consisted of partial skeletons from three individuals, with the remains making up nearly an entire body.

This group of dinosaurs has been classified by paleontologists for almost 100 years. In fact, the study of the group has been based on skeletons found in Asia as well as some fragments from North America.

This three fossils had been known for a while but not recognized as a new species until now. However, many of the researchers question the name for this dinosaur as they believe it did not hunt big game.

"Anzu and other caenagnathids may have favored well-watered floodplain settings over channel margins, and were probably ecological generalists that fed upon vegetation, small animals, and perhaps eggs," they said, via an accompanying article.  

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More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal PLOS ONE.