Chicken from Hell

Adam Khor

In reality it isn´t new at all but only now is it named and described. It was about 3.5 meters long and 200-300 kgs, being possibly the second largest known oviraptorosaur, after Gigantoraptor (which was apparently closely related). The authors consider it and other caenagnathids an omnivore.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0092022;jsessionid=C7AB21F731D3D109E75C477194447051

Rubecula

Great find Adam.

Capt'n Midnight

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26653799

"The skull has this extraordinarily tall and thin crest with a snout and a huge beak with sharp edges and a strange sliding jaw joint," that could be used to cut up vegetation and meat, he says.

The size of a small car, the dinosaur also had claws and feathers on its upper arms.

Adam Khor

Just to clarify, there is no actual evidence of feathers associated with Anzu. Chances are high that it had them, but you never know...

Harold Finch

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/new-dinosaur-called-the-chicken-from-hell/2014/03/19/92cc64d4-af7d-11e3-9627-c65021d6d572_story.html?hpid=z2

Scientists have discovered a freakish, birdlike species of dinosaur — 11 feet long, 500 pounds, with a beak, no teeth, a bony crest atop its head, murderous claws, prize-fighter arms, spindly legs, a thin tail and feathers sprouting all over the place. Officially, it’s a member of a group of dinosaurs called oviraptorosaurs.

Unofficially, it’s the Chicken From Hell.

500 pound chicken!?

Capt'n Midnight

Harold Finch wrote: »

500 pound chicken!?

I see your 500 pound chicken and I raise you 50lb

bullockornis the Demon-Duck of Doom

Adam Khor

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

I see your 500 pound chicken and I raise you 50lb

bullockornis the Demon-Duck of Doom

'Nuff said.

Galvasean

^^ Gigantoraptor?

Adam Khor

The one and only.

Kess73

Demon Duck of Doom?


Am now going to have to decide on what is going to be my tyrannical turkey of terror.


Although the use of the word terror probably means that I will have to unleash some Phorusrhacids



May as well go with the largest (that we know of anyway)....Kelenken

Adam Khor

Unless Kelenken turns out to have a huge head proportionally... in which case Brontornis would still be bigger.

Galvasean

Kess73 wrote: »

May as well go with the largest (that we know of anyway)....Kelenken

Is that not Titanis? Kelenken is usually depicted as being more gracile and long limbed.

Kess73

Adam Khor wrote: »

Unless Kelenken turns out to have a huge head proportionally... in which case Brontornis would still be bigger.

Am holding out that Kelenken has a beak that is as in proportion with it's body as the beaks of the likes of Dromornis, Brontornis, and Titanis were in proportion to their bodies.


I want another monster

Adam Khor

Galvasean wrote: »

Is that not Titanis? Kelenken is usually depicted as being more gracile and long limbed.

Yes, that pic is of Titanis. But only the skull is known from Kelenken so any depictions showing full body are speculation.

Kess73

Galvasean wrote: »

Is that not Titanis? Kelenken is usually depicted as being more gracile and long limbed.

Same pic has been used for both depending on what site you look at, so I shall cheat if I like.



Have seen it depicted as a more lithe bird that Titanis and also as a far larger and more heavily built bird. Pretty much all of it is speculation until more of it gets found.

Adam Khor

I was going to post that size chart. I love how it looks as if it's just about to bite the guy's head off. :pac:

Galvasean

I really don't like the idea of a bird with a head bigger than my torso...

Kess73

Galvasean wrote: »

I really don't like the idea of a bird with a head bigger than my torso...

That's the Tyrannical Turkey of Terror that you are talking about.



The T Rex of birds if you will.....ok I'll get my coat

Adam Khor

Oh no you didn´t...

What's not to love about such a creature, tho? If it wasn´t because these are bad times to be a great beast on planet Earth, I would love for them to be around today... living birds are awesome but severely lacking on the giant man-eater department.

At least we get this:

Kess73

Adam Khor wrote: »

Oh no you didn´t...

What's not to love about such a creature, tho? If it wasn´t because these are bad times to be a great beast on planet Earth, I would love for them to be around today... living birds are awesome but severely lacking on the giant man-eater department.

At least we get this:

Must admit I would find the idea of a giant flightless predatory bird as more worrying than the large land predators that are around nowadays.

I get to watch and am around modern day raptors a lot, and have often imagined, when I had a raptor on my forearm, what a scaled up version (flightless or otherwise) would be like.

Or watch a species of modern raptor that is adept at hunting/giving chase on the ground, like a sparrowhawk, and suddenly the concept of a nine foot tall predatory birds brings images of a very determined, and intelligent hunter to mind.

Now think of such a creature working as part of a pair or even a larger group.


Read a book (fiction obviously:D) a few years back that touched on that concept, but taking what we now today about raptors and the like and then imagining the giants of old with similar characteristics makes for a nightmare creature for any prey species.

Galvasean

Was that book The Flock by any chance?

Kess73

Galvasean wrote: »

Was that book The Flock by any chance?

It was indeed. Think you and I chatted briefly in here about that book a few years back.

Also picked up another book around that time with a very similar premise that had some sabretooth cats running around in modern times.