Oviraptor philoceratops OH-vih-RAP-tor
"Egg thief (a mistaken name)"
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Oviraptor 1.6 m (5.2 ft) long
2 people holding hands
- Length
- 1.6 m (5.2 ft) — About 1.6 m long, ~30 kg — turkey-sized with a beak and crest.
- Period
- Late Cretaceous (75–71 Mya)
- Place
- Asia · Mongolia
- Food
- Omnivore — Probably plants, eggs, and small animals — the parrot-like beak suggests crushing hard food.
Oviraptor was named ‘egg thief’ in 1924 because the first skeleton was found near a nest, and scientists assumed it was raiding eggs. Seventy years later they realized the eggs were actually its own — Oviraptor was a brooding parent, sitting on the nest like a modern bird. The name was wrong, but the rules of naming species say the name sticks.
What we know
- Toothless beak with a crested skull — looked a bit like a giant parrot.
- Brooded its own eggs in a circular nest, sitting on top like a modern bird.
- Feathered, almost certainly — multiple oviraptorosaur relatives preserve feathers.
- Closely related to Citipati, the more famous brooding specimens from Mongolia.
What we guess
- What the parrot-like beak was for — eggs, plants, small animals, or a mix.
- The exact shape of its head crest, since the type specimen is partial.
- Whether the crest was for display, species recognition, or sound production.