Oviraptor

▪ dinosaur genus

  small, lightly built predatory or omnivorous dinosaur that brooded its eggs in a manner similar to birds. Found as fossils in deposits from the Late Cretaceous Period (99 million to 65 million years ago) of eastern Asia and North America, Oviraptor was about 1.8 metres (6 feet) long and walked on two long, well-developed hind limbs. The forelimbs were long and slender, with three long clawed fingers clearly suited for grasping, ripping, and tearing. Oviraptor had a short skull with very large eyes surrounded by a bony ring; it was possibly capable of stereoscopic vision. The skull also had strange cranial crests, and the jaws lacked teeth but were probably sheathed with a horny, beaklike covering.

 Oviraptor is named from the Latin terms for “egg” and “robber,” because it was first found with the remains of eggs that were thought to belong to Protoceratops, an early horned dinosaur. However, microscopic studies of the eggshells have shown that they were not ceratopsian but theropod. Later, several other Oviraptor skeletons were found atop nests of eggs in a brooding position exactly like that of living birds.

 

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