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Oviraptor

By , About.com Guide

Oviraptor (Wikimedia Commons)

Name:

Oviraptor (Greek for "egg thief"); pronounced OH-vee-rap-tore

Habitat:

Deserts of Asia

Historical Period:

Late Cretaceous (85-75 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

About 8 feet long and 75 pounds

Diet:

Probably meat

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Sharp, toothless beak; probably feathers

About Oviraptor:

Talk about a bum rap: when the first fossil of Oviraptor was unearthed, sitting atop a clutch of fossilized eggs, the eggs were thought to belong to Protoceratops (specimens of which had been found in the immediate vicinity). Naturally, it was assumed this new dinosaur had stolen the eggs, hence its name "egg thief." (See a gallery of Oviraptor pictures.)

Although it's still stuck with its inaccurate label, Oviraptor has since been vindicated. Paleontologists now believe that the "guilty" specimen had actually been sitting on its own eggs, and had earned its notoriety simply by being a good mother!

Beyond this little snafu, Oviraptor was among the most birdlike of all dinosaurs, with a sharp, toothless beak and (probably) a coat of feathers. This dinosaur didn't have wings, but it seemed to have been a short step away (in evolutionary terms) from the first flying birds. (By the way, confusingly enough, Oviraptor isn't classified among the carnivorous dinosaurs known as raptors.)

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