"Chicken from hell" dinosaur makes formal scientific debut

Mark Klingler/Carnegie Museum of Natural History/AP

An illustration of the dinosaur Anzu wyliei. The birdlike animal, about seven feet tall, weighed an estimated 500 pounds when it roamed western North America around 66-68 million years ago.

Nicknamed the "chicken from hell," the creature was formally introduced with an official name to the scientific community on March 19, 2014 as scientists published a description and analysis of its anatomy.

Anzu wyliei

Donald E. Hurlbert/Smithsonian Institution/AP

A reconstructed skull of the dinosaur Anzu wyliei, March 18, 2014.

Anzu had a toothless beak and a crest on its skull like a rooster's comb, combined with long arms and sharp claws up to about 4 inches long. It apparently also had feathers over much of its body.

Anzu wyliei

Brittany M. Hance/Smithsonian Institution/AP

Tyler Lyson of the Smithsonian Institution's Department of Vertebrate Zoology, left, and Hans Sues of the Department of Paleobiology stand with a reconstructed skull of the dinosaur Anzu wyliei, March 18, 2014.

Anzu wyliei

An illustration shows the dinosaur Anzu wyliei, March 18, 2014 .

Anzu wyliei

A reconstruction of the skeleton of the dinosaur Anzu wyliei., March 18, 2014.