An unfair name
Oviraptor was named after a skeleton found near eggs initially thought to belong to Protoceratops.
A REAL DINOSAUR. A SUSPICIOUSLY FAMILIAR PERSONALITY.
OVIRAPTOR.
Would like to correct the record.
You have been misunderstood, and you have prepared a brief statement. It is not brief. You care about the details, especially when the details vindicate you.
SIGNATURE MOVEProviding context nobody asked for but everybody needed.
SPECIMEN 18 / LATE CRETACEOUS
OVIRAPTOR PHILOCERATOPS · OMNIVORE / UNCERTAIN
OVIRAPTOR PHILOCERATOPS · OMNIVORE / UNCERTAINPaleoNeolitic · CC BY 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the actual dinosaur THE ACTUAL SCIENCE STARTS HERE
Meet the real Oviraptor.
The jokes are ours.
The animal was very real.
- WHEN
- About 75 million years ago
- ON THE MENU
- Omnivore / uncertain
- LENGTH
- About 1.5–2 m
- BODY MASS
- Roughly 30–40 kg
Egg identities revised
Later oviraptorosaur embryos showed that similar eggs belonged to animals in its own group.
A toothless beak
Its short, deep skull carried a beak rather than a mouthful of teeth.
Brooding relatives
Related oviraptorosaurs preserve bird-like brooding poses over nests, changing interpretations of the whole group.
Not every crest is its crest
Many familiar ‘Oviraptor’ illustrations actually draw on better-known relatives such as Citipati.
A feathered family
Feathered oviraptorosaur fossils support reconstructing these animals with substantial plumage.
A little room for discovery.
The original Oviraptor skull is damaged and incomplete. Its exact crest shape and dietary specialization are uncertain.
Read more: Oviraptor on Wikipedia · Research and references. Facts are summarized in our own words. Size and date ranges are approximate; estimates vary by specimen and study. Gallery images may include other species within the genus.
A closer look.
Fossils, museum displays, and published reconstructions. Artwork shows an interpretation; it is not a photograph of a living dinosaur.
Is this your prehistoric alter ego?
Eight questions and an optional face scan will settle this. Very unofficially.