{
  "id": 17870381,
  "title": "Bizarre Fruit-Eating “Hell Chicken” Suggests Dinosaurs Played a Role in Flowering Plant Evolution",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/bizarre-fruit-eating-hell-chicken-suggests-dinosaurs-played-a-role-in",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-02T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Nautilus",
    "slug": "nautilus",
    "url": "https://nautil.us/bizarre-fruit-eating-hell-chicken-suggests-dinosaurs-played-a-role-in-flowering-plant-evolution-1286301/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the late Cretaceous period, fruit was a novel food source as flowering plants took over from cone-bearing plants. Paleontologists have now unearthed a dinosaur that appears to be a specialized fruit-feeder, potentially playing a large role in the evolution of fruit-bearing plants. This discovery was made in the Hell Creek Formation, a fossil-rich region spanning Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The species, named Infernogallus or \"hell chicken,\" was roughly the size of a turkey and possessed peculiar adaptations for a diet of fruit. Its jaw anatomy, indicative of musculature capable of mashing pulpy fiber, is rare and unique among dinosaurs, suggesting this dinosaur played a significant part in the evolution of fruit-bearing plants.",
  "summary": "Its jaws were fruit-mashing machines The post Bizarre Fruit-Eating “Hell Chicken” Suggests Dinosaurs Played a Role in Flowering Plant Evolution appeared first on Nautilus .",
  "key_points": [
    "\"Hell chicken\" named Infernogallus found in Hell Creek Formation",
    "Peculiar jaw anatomy suggests fruit-eating dinosaur",
    "May have played significant role in flowering plant evolution"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}