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1.03" Fossil Raptor (Anzu wyliei) Hand Claw - Wyoming
This is an extremely rare and nicely preserved hand claw of the relatively recently described giant raptor Anzu wyliei. Dubbed by media as the "chicken from hell" this dinosaur grew up to 11 feet in length and sported a large a prominent crest on its head. The name Anzu refers to a feathered demon in ancient Mesopotamian mythology.
The claw is 1.03" long (straightline) and is in good condition. The tip of the claw is missing and there are a couple of repaired cracks through the middle. No gap fill restoration on this specimen. Comes with a riker display case.
The creature's appearance – "big crests on their skulls, a beak, no teeth, and a very bird-like skeleton", and its discovery in the Hell Creek Formation led to it being jokingly nicknamed the "chicken from hell". Matthew Lamanna, who devised the species' name, originally wanted to use a Latin or Greek version of "chicken from hell". However, he found that the nickname did not work so well in those languages.
The claw is 1.03" long (straightline) and is in good condition. The tip of the claw is missing and there are a couple of repaired cracks through the middle. No gap fill restoration on this specimen. Comes with a riker display case.
The creature's appearance – "big crests on their skulls, a beak, no teeth, and a very bird-like skeleton", and its discovery in the Hell Creek Formation led to it being jokingly nicknamed the "chicken from hell". Matthew Lamanna, who devised the species' name, originally wanted to use a Latin or Greek version of "chicken from hell". However, he found that the nickname did not work so well in those languages.
About The Lance Formation
The Lance Formation of eastern Wyoming is a Late Cretaceous (69–66 million years old) unit that represents the same geologic age as the famous Hell Creek Formation of Montana and the Dakotas. Although they are time-equivalent, the Lance and Hell Creek preserve subtly different environments. Hell Creek reflects a humid, forested coastal plain punctuated by volcanic ash deposits, while the Lance records a slightly drier, more open floodplain landscape with broader river systems and fewer ash layers. Together, they provide a complementary view of life in the final chapter of the dinosaur era.
Perhaps the most famous Lance resident would be Tyrannosaurus rex, the largest North American carnivore to ever live. However, other smaller theropods also roamed the American midwest in this subtropical coastal stream system, including the beaked Ornithomimus, a lanky running theropod with a build similar to a modern ostrich, as well as several small predatory troodonts such as Paronychodon and Pectinodon.
Herbivorous dinosaurs also took advantage of the abundance offered by this unique era. Armored ankylosaurs dwelt in herds, their safety assured by their numbers, their heavy bone plating protecting most of their bodies and even their eyelids, and huge bone clubs on the ends of their tails providing them with powerful offensive capabilities. Ceratopsians like the famous Triceratops also formed protective herds, guarding their necks with frills and horns. Their smaller relatives, the dome-headed pachycephalosaurs, were also well represented in the area. Hadrosaurs, duck-billed titans with huge batteries of plant-grinding teeth in elongated snouts, are also well known from the region.
In addition to dinosaurs, a wide variety of fishes, amphibians, lizards, snakes, turtles, champsosaurs, crocodilians, and pterosaurs have been found in the formation.
The Lance Formation of eastern Wyoming is a Late Cretaceous (69–66 million years old) unit that represents the same geologic age as the famous Hell Creek Formation of Montana and the Dakotas. Although they are time-equivalent, the Lance and Hell Creek preserve subtly different environments. Hell Creek reflects a humid, forested coastal plain punctuated by volcanic ash deposits, while the Lance records a slightly drier, more open floodplain landscape with broader river systems and fewer ash layers. Together, they provide a complementary view of life in the final chapter of the dinosaur era.
Perhaps the most famous Lance resident would be Tyrannosaurus rex, the largest North American carnivore to ever live. However, other smaller theropods also roamed the American midwest in this subtropical coastal stream system, including the beaked Ornithomimus, a lanky running theropod with a build similar to a modern ostrich, as well as several small predatory troodonts such as Paronychodon and Pectinodon.
Herbivorous dinosaurs also took advantage of the abundance offered by this unique era. Armored ankylosaurs dwelt in herds, their safety assured by their numbers, their heavy bone plating protecting most of their bodies and even their eyelids, and huge bone clubs on the ends of their tails providing them with powerful offensive capabilities. Ceratopsians like the famous Triceratops also formed protective herds, guarding their necks with frills and horns. Their smaller relatives, the dome-headed pachycephalosaurs, were also well represented in the area. Hadrosaurs, duck-billed titans with huge batteries of plant-grinding teeth in elongated snouts, are also well known from the region.
In addition to dinosaurs, a wide variety of fishes, amphibians, lizards, snakes, turtles, champsosaurs, crocodilians, and pterosaurs have been found in the formation.
SPECIES
Anzu wyliei
LOCATION
Wyoming
FORMATION
Lance (Creek) Formation
SIZE
1.03" long (straightline)
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#379722
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