Citipati osmolskae Citipati

Citipati (; meaning “funeral pyre lord”) is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. It is mainly known from the Ukhaa Tolgod locality at the Djadochta Formation, where the first remains were collected during the 1990s. The genus and type species Citipati osmolskae were named and described in 2001. A second species from the adjacent Zamyn Khondt locality may also exist. Citipati is one of the best-known oviraptorids thanks to a number of well-preserved specimens, including individuals found in brooding positions atop nests of eggs, though most of them were initially referred to the related Oviraptor. These nesting specimens have helped to solidify the link between non-avian dinosaurs and birds.