Oviraptor

egg thief

• ovi · Latin · egg
• raptor · Latin · thief, robber, plunderer

The name means "egg thief". Osborn chose it because the first specimen was found on top of a nest of eggs, which he assumed belonged to the ceratopsian Protoceratops, so he suggested the animal had been caught raiding the nest. Later discoveries showed that the eggs were Oviraptor's own, and the animal was probably brooding them. The name has stayed even though the original interpretation was wrong.

Named by

Osborn

Year named

1924

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Djadochta Formation, Gobi Desert, Mongolia

Type species is Oviraptor philoceratops. It is a valid genus and the namesake of the Oviraptoridae. The "egg thief" reputation is now considered a misinterpretation. The stratigraphic unit is often given as the Djadochta Formation, though some sources place the specimen in the Barun Goyot or Ukhaa Tolgod beds, so the stage is somewhat uncertain.