Oviraptor
OH-vih-rap-tor
- featured
Oviraptor is an omnivorous dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period. Although its name translates to ‘egg seizer’, this is based on a misapprehension that has long since been rectified. Early specimens were often found near nests, suggesting that Oviraptor was inclined to eat the eggs of other dinosaurs - but experts now believe they were brooding the eggs until they hatched.
Discovery
The first Oviraptor specimen was excavated from the Flaming Cliffs of the Djadokhta Formation, Mongolia in 1923 by the American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews. His find consisted of a partial skull, vertebrae, ribs and part of its left arm, and was unearthed alongside two other previously undiscovered specimens, Velociraptor and Saurornthoides.
Palaeoecology
This genus lived approximately 70-75 million years ago in Asia, which had a very hot, dry climate during this period, and co-existed with many other genera of dinosaur including Velociraptor, Protoceratops and Byronosaurus. Oviraptor used its powerful jaw to crush its food - research suggests Oviraptor was happy eating everything from meat and fish to eggs and even fruit.
Information
- Era
- Late Cretaceous
- Family
- Oviraptoridae
- Genus
- Oviraptor
- Height
- 0.8M
- Length
- 1.3M
- Weight
- 30Kg
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Egg batch size
- 3 - 6
