biology daily - the biology and biochemistry encyclopedia
biology daily articles and research Encyclopedia Dictionary Forums biology research links Weblinks Pictures Articles Blogs Newsletter

Oviraptor

Oviraptor philoceratops was a small Mongolian theropod dinosaur named by H. F. Osborn in 1924. Its name is Latin for "egg thief," as it was fossilized on a pile of presumed protoceratops eggs. However, it is now believed that the eggs belonged to this genus itself, and that it was actually brooding its eggs.

Oviraptor may have eaten eggs, however the strength of its beak seems to suggest that it could have also broken bones. The jaws were thick and curved, so that very hard substances could be crushed. The toothless beak may have been covered by a hardened sheath, much like modern bird beaks.

Oviraptor also had very large claws on each of its three strong fingers, which may have been useful in holding things in place.

Oviraptor lived in the Cretaceous period. Relatives of Oviraptor include Ingenia and Chirostenotes .



07-14-2008 23:18:10
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. How to see transparent copy
BiologyDaily.com 2005. Legal info   Privacy