page_title: Anzu wyliei
section_title: Paleobiology
hierarchical_section_title: Anzu wyliei / Paleobiology
caption_attribution_description: Photographs of craniomandibular elements of Anzu wyliei gen. et sp. nov. (A) Left premaxilla of CM 78001 in lateral view. Left maxilla of CM 78001 in lateral (B) and medial (C) views. Left jugal of CM 78001 in lateral (D) and medial (E) views. (F) Braincase with articulated quadrates and pterygoids of CM 78001 in posterior view. Right quadrate of CM 78000 in dorsal (G), anterior (H), posterior (I), ventral (J), medial (K), and lateral (L) views. (M) Fused pterygoids of CM 78000 in ventral view. Right ectopterygoid of CM 78001 in lateral (N) and medial (O) views. Fused dentaries of CM 78000 in left lateral (P), dorsal (Q), and ventral (R) views. Left surangular–articular–coronoid complex of CM 78000 in lateral (S) and dorsal (T) views. Left angular of CM 78000 in lateral (U) and medial (V) views. Abbreviations: aof, antorbital fenestra; ap, ascending process; bpt, basipterygoid process; emf, external mandibular fenestra; fm, foramen magnum; lf, lateral flange; lg, lateral groove; lgl, lateral facet of mandibular glenoid; lr, lingual ridge; mgl, medial facet of mandibular glenoid; oc, occipital condyle; pdp, posterodorsal process; pop, paroccipital process; por, postorbital process; ps, palatal shelf; pt, pterygoid; pvp, posteroventral process; pvpf, facet for posteroventral process of dentary; q, quadrate; qjp, quadratojugal process; r, retroarticular process. Scale bars = 1 cm.
context_page_description: Anzu is a genus of caenagnathine dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of North Dakota and South Dakota, US. The type species is Anzu wyliei.
  In 2015, the International Institute for Species Exploration names it as one of the "Top 10 New Species" for new species discovered in 2014.
context_section_description: Anzu was probably an omnivore or herbivore, although the beak is not as heavily constructed as in the Asian Oviraptoridae. Other differences from its Asian cousins include size – the Asian Oviraptoridae were smaller – as well as thicker legs and different lower jaws.
  The fossils of Anzu wyliei were found in mudstone rock that had once been part of ancient floodplains. This indicates that the species likely had a lifestyle significantly different from its Asian counterparts, which lived in arid or semi-arid conditions. Its lifestyle, according to Stephen Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh, was that of "a fast-running, ecological generalist that didn't quite fit the usual moulds of meat-eating or plant-eating dinosaur." Its jaw morphology suggests that it could eat a variety of food items, including vegetation, small animals, and possibly eggs.
  While a number of its features were similar to those of modern birds, it was not an avian dinosaur and its line died out in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago, along with all the rest of the non-avian dinosaurs. Its bird-like features are instead an example of convergent evolution. Matthew Lamanna comments that "it would have had a lot of birdy behaviors. When people think of a dinosaur, they think of something like a T. rex or a brontosaurus, and when they think of a bird, they think of something like a sparrow or a chicken. This animal, Anzu, has a mosaic of features of both of those groups, and so it basically provides a really nice link in the evolutionary chain."
  The purpose of Anzu's large crest is unclear; Sues notes that it "is very large and made of paper-thin bone, so it was not able to take much stress. All oviraptosaurs have this crest but it is certainly the largest in A. wyliei. The most likely function is for display, showing off to members of your own species. The Australian cassowary has a similar crest which is thought to be used to attract mates, so it is possible that A. wyliei could have used its crest in a similar fashion." The fossils showed evidence of injuries, including a healed broken rib and an arthritic toe that was probably the result of a tendon being ripped away from the bone (an avulsion fracture). It is not known whether this indicates that the animals fought each other, or were injured by predators.
caption: Photos of the skull elements of the Carnegie specimens
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