Late CretaceousSaurischian dinosaurs

Oviraptorosaurs

Oviraptor nestOviraptor means 'egg thief', a name derived from the fact that the first specimen of Oviraptor was discovered on top of a nest of Protoceratops eggs in Mongolia. This circumstantial evidence, together with the dinosaur's horny beak, has led researchers to believe that Oviraptor may have preyed on eggs and possibly also ate insects and small vertebrates.

OviraptorOviraptorosaurs lived at the end of the Cretaceous period and seem to be related to the ornithomimosaurs. A North American specimen, Caenagnathus, is probably a member of the same family as Oviraptor.


 

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