Infernogallus is our first look at what a caenagnathid skeleton really looked like in life, and, even better, it’s so strange that paleontologists might have to rethink how these dinosaurs were living,
said paleontologist and author Riley Black as researchers described a turkey-sized dinosaur named Infernogallus jamesi.
Living roughly 66 to 68 million years ago during the latest Cretaceous period alongside Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops, the newly named creature gets its moniker from the Hell Creek Formation where its fossils were discovered.
Weighing around 12 kilograms, with a possible range of 9 to 15 kilograms, the bird-like theropod belonged to the Caenagnathidae family of toothless, feathered animals.
Funston also noted that most people don’t want to be stuck in a cage with a turkey.
The species name jamesi honors James William Boyd, the paternal grandfather of coauthor Clint Boyd, who helped spark Boyd’s interest in paleontology.
The research was led by Gregory Funston alongside colleagues including Thomas Dudgeon, current Rebanks Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Royal Ontario Museum, and David Evans, chief curator and chair in vertebrate palaeontology at the museum. Five specimens contributed to the formal naming of the animal.
Researchers examined scanned and reconstructed skulls to analyze the creature’s feeding mechanics. Using CT scans to reconstruct the skull, the researchers found that these bones arched downwards into the mouth itself, making certain muscles face front-to-back instead of up and down.
This front-to-back chewing motion mimics modern fruit-eating parrots and humans. Thomas Dudgeon, an evolutionary biologist at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, told Sciencealert that the anatomy of Infernogallus is bizarre among dinosaurs, and we quickly realized that we were dealing with something special.
Instead of teeth, the creature lacked the capability to grind tough or fibrous materials like ferns, and no gizzard stones were discovered in the gut of the most complete specimen.
The researchers theorize the dinosaur targeted drupes like peaches and cherries that feature a large seed surrounded by soft flesh, as reported by Smithsonian Magazine, although the study did not demonstrate seed dispersal since its inferred processing of fruit flesh could have left some seeds behind rather than swallowing them.
The study found that the lineage of Infernogallus traced its origin back to around 107 to 118 million years ago, and began developing specialized traits precisely as flowering plants and their large fruits proliferated during the Cretaceous period.
The holotype specimen (ROM VP 65050) and partial skeleton, including its skull, are housed and on display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
David Evans added that this discovery shows that we still have a lot to learn about the world of T. rex, and about dinosaurs more generally.
Earlier coverage: Scientists Find Traces of Heme in 115-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Bone