Hell Chicken Discovery Could Tell Us Just How Doomed The Dinosaurs Were

Used to be that not much more than 10 years ago these birdlike dinosaurs fossils were primarily found in China (Gobi desert). Look like they have also been discovered in Western U.S.A.

It is still unclear whether or not many more types of dinosaurs were covered in feathers. And it still looks odd seeing them portrayed with feathers!

"Our new study focused on four hindlimb bones – a femur, a tibia
and two metatarsals. They were unearthed in South Dakota, in rocks of the Hell Creek Formation, and date to the final 2 million years of the Cretaceous.

When we first examined the bones, we identified them as belonging to a family of dinosaurs known as the caenagnathids – a group of birdlike dinosaurs that had toothless beaks, long legs and short tails. Direct fossil and inferred evidence indicates these dinosaurs were covered in complex feathers, much like modern birds."