Anzu

Anzu was a gigantic caenagnathid theropod that lived alongside Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops in North America right at the end of the Cretaceous. 5 metres long and weighing between 200 and 300 kilograms, it was among the largest oviraptorosaurs outside Asia. Nicknamed the Chicken from Hell by the researchers who described it, Anzu sported a prominent, paper-thin bony crest atop its skull, a deep, sharp beak without teeth, and elongated arms ending in curved claws. Its long legs made it a fast runner across floodplain forests. Anzu was an omnivore capable of tackling a mixed diet of fibrous plants, roots, eggs, and small animals, playing an important generalist ecological role in Hell Creek ecosystems.

Informally nicknamed the 'Chicken from Hell' due to its bird-like body and imposing size.

Where and when

Anzu lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 68 to 66 million years ago (Maastrichtian age). Its remains come from United States, in the Hell Creek Formation.

The numbers

Length 3.3 m (estimates run from 3 to 3.5 m). Mass about 240 kg. Hip height about 1.5 m. That is 1.9 human-lengths, or 0.29 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Anzu with a bus Place on the timeline