A Mysterious New Monster Nicknamed the “Dawn Chicken from the Pharaoh’s Hell,” 66 Million Years Old.
According to Live Science, the intriguing story of the newly named creature “Eoneophron infernalis” begins with Kyle Atkins-Weltman, a PhD student at Oklahoma State University, who purchased four fossil specimens online.
The creature recently identified by an American researcher from fossils sold online – (Photo: PLOS ONE).
These fossils were sold at a relatively low price of $5,000, typical for ordinary fossil bones from commonly found species.
Among them, the fossil of a hind limb was thought to belong to a dinosaur named Anzu wyliei. However, upon closer examination, Atkins-Weltman realized it was an unidentified species.
After careful consideration, he decided to name it Eoneophron infernalis, combining the Greek word “eos,” meaning “dawn,” to indicate the ancient nature of the species, while Neophron refers to a genus of Egyptian vultures known as the “chicken of the pharaohs.”
To add a touch of mystery, “infernalis” means “hell” in Latin.
This name also recalls the species it was initially confused with, Anzu wyliei, nicknamed the “chicken from hell,” which is also a creature excavated from the Hell Creek Formation, translating to “the creek from hell.”
The new specimen is relatively small compared to other creatures in its monstrous world, weighing only 78 kg. It lived just before the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, approximately 66 million years ago.
Reconstruction images show that it resembles a bizarre bird, even though it is technically a dinosaur.
This appearance is not too surprising, as birds are also a lineage evolved from dinosaurs, considered the last remnants of the “monster family” that dominated during the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.
The research on this new monster was recently published in the scientific journal PLOS One.
