Oviraptor Egg

Late Cretaceous, about 88-70 million years ago.

Excellent 3D preservation and eggshell. Nest of three eggs from circular nest of 30 or so eggs.

Oviraptor was a small, bird-like, omnivorous dinosaur. It was about 6 to 8 feet long, weighing about 55 to 76 pounds. It was lightly built, fast moving, long-legged and bipedal.

It had curved claws on its three-fingered hands and three-toed feet. The claws on its large hands were about 3 inches long. Its fingers were long and grasping.  Its strangely shaped, parrot-like head had a short, toothless beak and extremely powerful jaws, built for crushing action. Oviraptors had a small, stumpy, horn-like crest on its snout, probably used for mating displays; differences in these crests may have represented different Oviraptor species or the difference between the male, female and juvenile of the species.

Oviraptor was a relatively large-brained dinosaur that cared for its eggs.  Oviraptor was probably an omnivore, which is unusual for a dinosaur.

Oviraptor (meaning ''egg stealer'') was thought to have eaten mostly eggs.  In 1924, an Oviraptor fossil was found on top of some eggs (which contained no fossilized embryos) and people assumed that it had been eating the eggs. Recently, however, in Mongolia, paleontologists found some eggs containing fossilized embryos which were identified as embryonic Oviraptors. It would seem that the Oviraptor fossil in 1924 was probably a parent of the eggs in the nest and not an egg stealer but a nurturer.

Oviraptor walked on two long, slender, bird-like legs. It must have been a fast runner, considering its long legs and light weight. It could perhaps run about as quickly as an ostrich, which can run up to 43 mph.