Weird Science Weekly: ‘Chicken from Hell’ dino terrorized Cretaceous era Dakotas

In this week's installment of Weird Science Weekly, we're looking at some of the strangest stories in the world of science, including a 500-pound diabolical-looking 'chicken' that roamed the Upper Midwest 70 million years ago, and scientists needing our help to stop a creeping invasion of the North.

Newly-discovered dino is named 'Chicken from Hell'

'Chicken from Hell' might sound like the title of an upcoming made-for-tv sci-fi flick, but paleontologists are using the moniker to describe a newly-identified dinosaur that roamed the Dakotas about 70 million years ago.

"If you were to take a time machine back to the end of the age of dinosaurs (fossil-hunters love the idea of time machines) ... and encountered this animal, your first thought would probably be, 'What a big, weird-looking bird,' " Matt Lamanna, a paleontologist at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, told NPR. "I actually think 'chicken from hell' is a pretty good nickname for this thing."

Weighing in at over 225 kilograms and at over 3 metres long, this bird-like creature would fill about 110 buckets of 'extra-crispy', although you might have a hard time catching it. Talking to NPR, Hans-Dieter Sues of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History noted the big bird's shin bone was longer than the thigh bone, a "dead giveaway for an animal that can run really fast."

Even if you were able to catch up to it, taking it down wouldn't be easy, as it could very-well turn the tables on any hunter with its 12.5-cm-long claws. Check out the image of it taken by Maggie Starbard from NPR.

The nickname is solidified by the fact that the fossil specimens were recovered from the Hell Creek Formation, a paleontological hot spot that spans parts of Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas.

This discovery was made possible by using previous-unidentified partial fossils from the Royal Ontario Museum, as well as two skeletons acquired from private collectors, and a fourth more recently collected in North Dakota, serving to show that there are still discoveries waiting to be uncovered in existing collections around the world.

[ Related: Weird Science Weekly: It’s humans vs Lego in Rubik’s Cube world record battle ]

Scientists want our help to stop creeping invasion of the North

While big chickens may have torn up the ground in the late Cretaceous, big worms are tearing up the topsoil right now in the Northwest Territories. That might not sound like a big deal, but researchers from the University of Alberta warn that the slow-wriggling invaders are a potential threat to northern forests.

Gardeners and composters might welcome worms to help enrich the soil, but researchers say the same kind of break down in the boreal forest is damaging to plants and animals that rely on the stratified soil to stay, well, stratified. And they've had a long time to adjust to it being that way — earthworms haven't churned up the northern soil since before the last ice age. As temperatures creep up globally, new lands become open to wormy invasion; they've already wriggled their way out of Alberta into the Northwest Territories, and possibly into the Yukon.

The Alberta Worm Invasion Project is calling upon people who bring the wrigglers as bait on fishing trips not to dump leftovers in the water or on land, to prevent further spread of the creatures. They're also asking citizen scientists to report worm sightings online or on their phones. You can even enter to win prizes by participating in the project.

[ More Geekquinox: Winter 2013/2014 report card: What is Canada's grade? ]

Keep your eyes on the wonders of science, and if you spot anything particularly strange you'd like me to check out for next week, comment below, email me using the link in the banner above, or drop me a line on Twitter!

Geek out with the latest in science and weather.
Follow @ygeekquinox on Twitter!