This prehistoric ‘murder swan’ isn't the only terrifying dinosaur to haunt your nightmares
A newly discovered fossil from Mongolia made headlines this week, as the nightmare version of modern-day swans: it has a bill — with teeth. It has feet — with claws. And it has flipper-like arms — with extra claws. This turkey-sized dinosaur, dubbed Halszkaraptor escuilliei, waddled the Earth more than 70 million years ago, where it probably terrified all the prehistoric fish that darted past those clawed feet.
Called a “murder swan” by Ed Yong at The Atlantic, the odd-looking fossil was described this week in the journal Nature. But it’s not the weirdest-looking dinosaur to emerge from the Earth.
Here are a few highlights from the fossil record to add to this nightmare menagerie.