Oviraptor

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Publication History

Several skeletons of this small dinosaur have been found associated with nests containing eggs, which they were presumably incubating or protecting. The feathers on the arms in this depiction are speculative and are based on the animal's lineage. Oviraptor belongs to the "Maniraptora", a group of birdlike dinosaurs that includes some types which are known to have been feathered. In any case, this coelurosaurian dinosaur was quick-footed and had a relatively large brain within its crested skull. Its highly specialized jaws imply a diet which may have included eggs, shellfish and even vegetation.

Genus Name: Oviraptor ("egg raider")
Type Species: * O. philoceratops (Osborn, 1924)
Length: 6 feet (2 meters)
Weight: 20 - 35 kilograms
Time: 72 million years ago (Late Cretaceous)
Place: Mongolia
Diet: meat and plant-eater (omnivore)