Oviraptor

Drawing of the skull of Oviraptor philoceratops (type specimen, AMNH 6517 ) from Osborn (1924 )

• Mongolia, possibly China

• Oviraptor philoceratops

Oviraptor is a genus theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Central Asia, which is counted to the Oviraptorosauria. The only kind and type species, Oviraptor philoceratops, is known from a poorly preserved, partial skeleton of eggs, which was found in Mongolia and is dated to the late Campanian.

A possible further skeleton ( also with eggs ) was discovered in Inner Mongolia in China, in an area called Bayan Mandahu.

Within the Oviraptorosauria Oviraptor is counted among the Oviraptoriden, he is the type and name giver of both groups. Like other Oviraptorosaurier Oviraptor was a small, bird -like theropod, which is characterized by very deep, toothless jaws and a skull crest.

The name Oviraptor means as much as "egg thief ". Since the first skeleton was discovered in a fossil nest, it was assumed the animal wanted to eat the eggs. Today, we interpret the find as a parent animal has incubated its own eggs when it died. It is assumed that they have similar brooding sea birds in colonies, as several nests were found near each other. The diet of Oviraptorosauria is still unclear, some researchers suggest, however, that the bill could have served to crack shells and snails.

Although Oviraptor is one of the popular dinosaurs, almost all illustrations are based on a well-preserved skeleton skull with high comb, which is attributed to the related Citipati today.

Fund and Features

Oviraptor philoceratops is from a single partial skeleton with a deformed, incomplete skull (catalog number AMNH 6517 ) and a nest with about 15 eggs known ( AMNH 6508 ). The find was from 1923 by George Olsen in the famous fossil deposit Bayanzag ( eng. "flaming cliffs " ) made ​​the geologically belongs to Djadochta lineup and come from among other skeletons of Protoceratops and Velociraptor. The expedition was one of four successful expeditions to the Gobi Desert, which had the American Museum of Natural History conducted in the early 1920s. Oviraptor was first described in 1924 by Henry Fairfield Osborn.

Oviraptor was one of the vogelähnlichsten the non-avian dinosaurs. In particular, his chest shows different features which are typical of birds, such as extensions on each rib, which stabilized the chest. A relative of Oviraptor, Nomingia, shows a pygostyle, a series of fused vertebrae that help today's birds, the tail feathers. Skin impressions from more primitive Oviraptorosauriern as Caudipteryx and Protarchaeopteryx show a comprehensive fletching of the body, feathered arms and long, fan- forming tail feathers. From the pygostyle at Nomingia can be concluded that long tail feathers in this species, suggesting that this feature was widespread among Oviraptorosauriern. In addition, the Nistposition of the brooding Citipati skeleton out that feathered arms were used to cover the eggs. Due to the great anatomical similarity between these findings and the Oviraptor skeleton, it seems very likely that Oviraptor was also feathered.

Oviraptor is traditionally depicted with an eye-catching skull crest, similar to that of modern cassowary. A re-examination of various Oviraptoriden however, shows that this popular style probably heard high ridge to the genus Citipati, a relative of Oviraptor. However, it is likely that Oviraptor had a cranial crest; its real size and shape is unknown due to the crushing of the only known skull.

System

Originally classified Oviraptor Osborn due to the toothless beak within the Ornithomimiden. Osborn also discovered similarities with Chirostenotes, which is still regarded as a close relative of Oviraptor. In 1976, Rinchen bars Bold turned to a new family who Oviraptoridae which Oviraptor should contain as type species and related genera.

The original Oviraptor skeleton is poorly preserved, especially because of the crushed and deformed skull. In the 1970s and 1980s this genus were assigned to new and more complete Oviraptoriden discoveries. In 1976 bars Bold wrote six additional findings to the Oviraptor (including IGM 100/20 and 100 /21), but these were later attributed to the new genus Conchoraptor. Perhaps the most famous discovery, IGN 100/42, is distinguished by its size and by its well-preserved, complete skull. This finding was attributed to bars Bold in 1981, the genus Oviraptor Oviraptor and represented in most representations as well as in scientific studies on Oviraptoriden. However, it was this discovery, re-examined, with its strikingly large, kasuarähnlichen skull crest. The researchers, who had also described the nesting Oviraptoriden, showed that the similarities to some other genera were greater than to Oviraptor. So IGN was 100/42 excluded from the genus Oviraptor and provisionally classified within the genus Citipati.

Paleobiology

The first skeleton was found on an accumulation of fossil eggs that were initially attributed to ceratopsians Protoceratops. From this it is concluded that Oviraptor fed on eggs, as well as his name (Latin for "egg thief " ) shows. The Artepitheth philoceratops accordingly means " lover of ceratopsians ". In his first description of 1924 Osborn explained that the name Oviraptor was chosen because the skull was found only about 10 cm away from the eggs. He suspected that the unusually shaped jaw and the beak could have formed a tool breaking eggs. However, he noted that the name Oviraptor "may entirely mislead us in relation to its feeding habits and belie its true character " ( "may mislead us as to Entirely its feeding habits and belie its character" ). In the 1990s proved finds sweltering Oviraptoriden as Citipati that Osborn with his critical view was right. These findings indicate that the found Oviraptor skeleton was a breeder that had incubated its eggs. In 1977, argued bars Bold that the beak was very strong and therefore suitable for cracking the shells of mollusks such as mussels, which were found in the same geological formation as Oviraptor.

In popular culture

Because of his bizarre, bird-like appearance and its reputation as an egg thief Oviraptor is a frequent component of popular media that have dinosaur theme. However, almost all the popular representations of Oviraptor based on earlier reconstructions of the großkämmigen Oviraptoriden - fossil, known as Citipati today, and not on actual Oviraptor fossils.

A notable example of Oviraptor in fiction is James Gurney's Dinotopia book. As he sees Oviraptor no longer than an egg Thief, Gurney named the animal " Ovinutrix ", which means as much as "egg keepers ". Oviraptor dinosaurs appeared frequently in films such as Disney's Dinosaur, where he steals an Iguanodon egg. The figure Ruby in the television series "The Land Before Time " ( The Land Before Time ) is a young female Oviraptor, which is the young dinosaurs help.