Notable Dinosaurs

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Oviraptor
Artist's reconstructionPaleoNeolitic, CC BY 4.0

Oviraptor

“egg thief”
TheropodomnivoreLate Cretaceous

Named an egg thief for a crime it did not commit: it was brooding its own nest

Overview

Oviraptor is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapman Andrews, and in the following year the genus and type species Oviraptor philoceratops were named by Henry Fairfield Osborn. The genus name refers to the initial thought of egg-stealing habits, and the specific name was intended to reinforce this view indicating a preference over ceratopsian eggs. Despite the fact that numerous specimens have been referred to the genus, Oviraptor is only known from a single partial skeleton regarded as the holotype, as well as a nest of about fifteen eggs and several small fragments from a juvenile.

Source: Wikipedia

Why it matters

  • Found in 1923 lying on a clutch of eggs assumed to belong to Protoceratops, hence the accusing name.
  • In 1993 an embryo inside an identical egg proved the eggs were oviraptorid, and later skeletons sit on nests with arms spread like birds.
  • It had a toothless beak and a crest; relatives show feathers and a tail fan.

Classification & discovery

Group
Dinosaur · Theropod · Oviraptoridae
Parent taxon
Oviraptoridae
Diet
omnivore
Environment
terrestrial
Life habit
ground-dwelling, solitary
Named
by Osborn in 1924

When it lived

89.8 – 72.2 million years ago · Coniacian to Campanian · Cretaceous

PermianTriassicJurassicCretaceousPaleogene6080100120140160180200220240260280300End-Cretaceous extinction, 66 MaDimetrodon: 298.9–266.9 Ma · A sail-backed predator that is closer to mammals than to any dinosaurDimetrodonHerrerasaurus: 237–227.3 Ma · An early predator from the dawn of the dinosaurs, named after the goat herder who found itHerrerasaurusEoraptor: 233.6–227.3 Ma · One of the very first dinosaurs, a dog-sized omnivore from 231 million years agoEoraptorCoelophysis: 227.3–192.9 Ma · A slender Triassic predator found by the hundreds at Ghost RanchCoelophysisPlateosaurus: 227.3–199.5 Ma · The first big plant-eater: a two-legged Triassic forerunner of the sauropodsPlateosaurusMegalosaurus: 205.7–66 Ma · The first dinosaur ever named, in 1824, decades before the word 'dinosaur' existedMegalosaurusPlesiosaurus: 205.7–66 Ma · The long-necked sea reptile Mary Anning found, often mistaken for a dinosaurPlesiosaurusDilophosaurus: 201.4–184.2 Ma · A seven-metre Early Jurassic predator with twin head crests, and no venom or neck frillDilophosaurusHeterodontosaurus: 201.4–184.2 Ma · A fox-sized dinosaur with tusks, incisors and cheek teeth all in one mouthHeterodontosaurusCryolophosaurus: 199.5–184.2 Ma · The first dinosaur named from Antarctica, with a pompadour-like crestCryolophosaurusMamenchisaurus: 168.2–113.2 Ma · The longest neck of any animal: up to 15 metres, half of its bodyMamenchisaurusKulindadromeus: 168.2–165.3 Ma · A plant-eater with feather-like fuzz, suggesting all dinosaurs could grow feathersKulindadromeusAnchiornis: 168.2–152.2 Ma · The first dinosaur with its whole colour pattern reconstructedAnchiornisYi: 165.3–154.8 Ma · A pigeon-sized dinosaur with bat-like membrane wingsYiStegosaurus: 161.5–93.9 Ma · Plates on its back, spikes on its tail and a famously small headStegosaurusAllosaurus: 161.5–137.1 Ma · The top predator of the Jurassic plains of North AmericaAllosaurusBrachiosaurus: 157.9–143.1 Ma · The giraffe of the dinosaur world, with front legs longer than its hind legsBrachiosaurusDiplodocus: 157.9–143.1 Ma · A 26-metre whip-tailed giant known from some of the most complete sauropod skeletonsDiplodocusApatosaurus: 157.9–143.1 Ma · A stockier cousin of Diplodocus with an extraordinarily thick neckApatosaurusBrontosaurus: 154.8–143.1 Ma · The dinosaur that was declared a mistake in 1903 and resurrected in 2015BrontosaurusIguanodon: 154.8–66 Ma · The second dinosaur ever named, whose thumb spike was first mistaken for a nose hornIguanodonCompsognathus: 154.8–145.1 Ma · A chicken-sized hunter and the first dinosaur known from a complete skeletonCompsognathusSupersaurus: 154.8–143.1 Ma · Possibly the longest dinosaur known from reasonably complete remainsSupersaurusEuropasaurus: 152.2–149.2 Ma · A sauropod shrunk to the size of a cow by life on a small islandEuropasaurusArchaeopteryx: 149.2–121.4 Ma · The feathered 'first bird' that tied birds to dinosaurs two years after Darwin's OriginArchaeopteryxMaraapunisaurus: 149.2–143.1 Ma · The lost vertebra that may have belonged to the largest dinosaur of allMaraapunisaurusDeinonychus: 143.1–93.9 Ma · The claw that launched the Dinosaur RenaissanceDeinonychusCarcharodontosaurus: 143.1–72.2 Ma · An African giant with serrated, shark-like teeth, rediscovered after its bones were bombedCarcharodontosaurusBaryonyx: 139.1–110.1 Ma · A crocodile-snouted fish-eater found by an amateur in a Surrey clay pitBaryonyxPsittacosaurus: 137.1–100.5 Ma · The best-understood dinosaur: colour, skin, bristles and even its cloaca are knownPsittacosaurusUtahraptor: 137.1–132.6 Ma · The largest raptor, with a 24-centimetre killing clawUtahraptorSpinosaurus: 125.8–72.2 Ma · The longest predatory dinosaur, a sail-backed river hunter with a paddle tailSpinosaurusSinosauropteryx: 125.8–119.6 Ma · The first non-bird dinosaur found with feathers, and the first with a known colourSinosauropteryxYutyrannus: 125.8–119.6 Ma · A nine-metre tyrannosaur relative covered in shaggy feathersYutyrannusAmargasaurus: 125.8–121.4 Ma · A small sauropod with a double row of spines down its neckAmargasaurusConcavenator: 125.8–121.4 Ma · A Spanish predator with a strange hump before the hips and possible quill knobsConcavenatorMicroraptor: 121.4–113.2 Ma · A crow-sized dinosaur with four wings and glossy black feathersMicroraptorBorealopelta: 121.4–113.2 Ma · An armoured dinosaur so well preserved it looks like it is sleepingBorealopeltaOuranosaurus: 121.4–66 Ma · A sail-backed plant-eater from the Sahara, when it was a river deltaOuranosaurusNigersaurus: 121.4–100.5 Ma · The 'Mesozoic cow' whose vacuum-cleaner mouth held 500 teethNigersaurusPatagotitan: 113.2–100.5 Ma · The best-known of the super-giants: six individuals from one Patagonian ranchPatagotitanGiganotosaurus: 113.2–106.3 Ma · A South American predator that rivalled Tyrannosaurus in sizeGiganotosaurusLeaellynasaura: 113.2–110.1 Ma · A small polar dinosaur that lived through months of winter darknessLeaellynasauraArgentinosaurus: 110.1–106.3 Ma · Possibly the heaviest land animal ever, known from a handful of enormous bonesArgentinosaurusDeinocheirus: 100.5–66 Ma · For 50 years only a pair of 2.4-metre arms were known; the rest was a hump-backed, duck-billed surpriseDeinocheirusShantungosaurus: 100.5–66 Ma · The largest duck-bill and the biggest non-sauropod dinosaur knownShantungosaurusMosasaurus: 100.5–61.7 Ma · A giant marine lizard from the Maastricht chalk, the fossil that launched the idea of extinctionMosasaurusGallimimus: 93.9–66 Ma · The largest ostrich dinosaur, built for speed on the Gobi plainsGallimimusVelociraptor: 89.8–66 Ma · A turkey-sized, feathered hunter, not the man-sized monster of the moviesVelociraptorOviraptor: 89.8–72.2 Ma · Named an egg thief for a crime it did not commit: it was brooding its own nestOviraptorEdmontosaurus: 89.8–66 Ma · The duck-bill known from 'mummies' with skin, hooves and a fleshy crestEdmontosaurusPteranodon: 89.8–72.2 Ma · Not a dinosaur at all: a flying reptile with a seven-metre wingspan and a toothless beakPteranodonHadrosaurus: 85.7–66 Ma · The first dinosaur skeleton ever mounted for the public, in Philadelphia in 1868HadrosaurusTyrannosaurus: 83.6–66 Ma · The tyrant king: the most studied predator that ever walked the EarthTyrannosaurusTriceratops: 83.6–66 Ma · Three horns, a bony frill and the most common large herbivore of the final dinosaur ageTriceratopsAnkylosaurus: 83.6–66 Ma · A living tank with a bone-crushing tail clubAnkylosaurusParasaurolophus: 83.6–72.2 Ma · A duck-billed dinosaur whose metre-long crest worked like a tromboneParasaurolophusPachycephalosaurus: 83.6–66 Ma · A dome of solid bone 25 centimetres thick, probably for ramming rivalsPachycephalosaurusDreadnoughtus: 83.6–72.2 Ma · A giant named after battleships, known from an unusually complete skeletonDreadnoughtusMaiasaura: 83.6–72.2 Ma · The dinosaur that proved parents cared for their youngMaiasauraTroodon: 83.6–66 Ma · The 'smartest dinosaur', with big eyes and a big brain, now a name in troubleTroodonZuul: 83.6–72.2 Ma · An ankylosaur named after a movie demon, with skin and armour still in placeZuulCarnotaurus: 72.2–66 Ma · A horned predator with the smallest arms of any large theropodCarnotaurusTherizinosaurus: 72.2–66 Ma · A pot-bellied, long-necked theropod with metre-long claws, the longest of any animalTherizinosaurusNanotyrannus: 72.2–66 Ma · A small tyrannosaur or a teenage T. rex? One of palaeontology's longest argumentsNanotyrannusMajungasaurus: 72.2–66 Ma · The only dinosaur with direct evidence of cannibalismMajungasaurusAustroraptor: 72.2–66 Ma · The largest raptor of the southern hemisphere, with a long snout and short armsAustroraptor

Where it was found

Mongolia · Countries with fossils: KZ, MN

3 fossil occurrences in the Paleobiology Database · Rock formations: Dabrazhin, Djadokhta

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Size

Human, 1.8 m
Oviraptor
Oviraptor · Height 0.8 m
01

Length 1.8 m · Mass 35 kg · Size estimates are editorial, from the literature; silhouettes from PhyloPic.

Length
1.8 m
Height
0.8 m
Mass
35 kg
First appearance
89.8 MaConiacian
Last appearance
72.2 MaCampanian
Span of the fossil record
17.6 million years
Fossil occurrences
3KZ, MN
Year named
1924Osborn

Sources

WikipediaPaleobiology DatabaseWikidata

Image: Internet Archive Book Images, Public domain · Public domain · image page

Life restoration: PaleoNeolitic, CC BY 4.0 · CC BY 4.0 · image page

Silhouette: Matt Martyniuk (PhyloPic) · license

Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Taglines, highlights and size estimates are editorial.