Authentic fossilized Oviraptor philoceratops dinosaur eggshell fragment, 2.3 cm length, 75 million years old, Cretaceous, China

Description

Oviraptor is a genus of dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, in Asia, approximately 84–66 million years ago. The Oviraptor was a fairly small feathered dinosaur, estimated to be 1.6 m long, weighing between 33 and 40 kg. It had a broad lower jaw, with a robust skull, on which there was probably a crest. Both the upper and lower jaws were toothless and formed a beak that was used during feeding. The arms were well developed and elongated and ended in three fingers with curved claws. The hind limbs were long and ended in four-toed paws, with the first finger small in size. The tail was probably not very long and ended in a tuft formed by large feathers.

Due to the morphology of its beak, which is very similar to that of modern parrots, it most likely fed on fruits and seeds, but there are also theories that propose that it was omnivorous, as the beak could also have been capable of being used for cutting. Eggs of Oviraptor are extremely numerous in the Nanxiong Formation of Guangdong Province in China, and the nests of Oviraptor they are extremely well organized and have a highly specific architecture, the role of which has not yet been fully understood.

When it was first described, Oviraptor was interpreted as an egg thief, a dinosaur that fed on the eggs of others, given the close association of its remains with dinosaur nests. Hence its name (the name of Oviraptor is composed of the Latin terms for "egg" and "robber"). Later, the discovery of numerous fossils of Oviraptors in a nesting position demonstrated that this dinosaur actually brooded on nests, which were actually its own, it did not steal or feed on eggs.