Student’s attempt to buy ‘chicken from hell’ leg bones results in discover of new bird dinosaur

An attempt to buy the leg bones of the ‘chicken from hell’ online has led to the discovery of a new dinosaur species by a US university student.

An illustration of an Anzu wyliei. A second “chicken from hell”, Eoneophron infernalis, has been discovered but it was only one metre tall, 60cm shorter than Anzu, and weighed 75kg. Picture: AP Photo/Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Mark Klingler

In 2020 Kyle Atkins-Weltman, a US master’s student, went online to buy the leg bones of the “chicken from hell”, a bird dinosaur that was the size of a human.

He wanted the $5000 fossils for a class project but those he received in the post had nothing to do with Anzu wyliei.

Instead, his purchase has led to the discovery of a new dinosaur species – Eoneophron infernalis, or pharaoh’s chicken.

The Kansas University student ordered the fossils from a collector. When he noticed the bones were smaller than expected he sent specimens to an anatomy professor.

When the results came back Mr Atkins-Weltman – a prehistory obsessive who as a child rooted for the dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park film – realised his was an exciting discovery.

“I felt my heart skip a beat,” the 28-year-old told Live Science. “I was like, is this really happening to me this early in my career?

“It took me at least two or three days to really wrap my head around that because it was just so serendipitous,” Mr Atkins-Weltman, now a PhD student in Oklahoma, told The Washington Post.

Researchers believe Eoneophron infernalis was similar to Anzu wyliei, with feathers across their bodies, long claws and legs, toothless beaks and short tails. It was, however, only one metre tall, 60cm shorter than Anzu, and weighed 75kg.

The smaller dinosaur also boasted unique features, including a ridge on its foot and ankle bones that were fused to its shin.

The fossils unearthed in the Hell Creek Formation, South Dakota, date to the final two million years of the Cretaceous era, which ended when an asteroid hit the Earth 66 million years ago.

After examining the bones’ growth lines, scientists decided the bird was nearly at its adult size.

The discovery has implications for scientists’ understanding of the period when dinosaurs were believed to have been in decline before they were wiped out, except for birds, when the asteroid struck.

Some scientists suggest dinosaur diversity might have grown between 83 million and 71 million years ago and that sampling and preservation biases could account for the perceived diminishing diversity.

Mr Atkins-Weltman’s discovery has led researchers to suspect more new dinosaur species could be discovered – including a third “chicken from hell” that would have been the size of a dog.

The Times