Oviraptor fossil map
Where fossils of Oviraptor have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 75 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 75 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Theropods |
|---|---|
| Lived | 89.8–72.2 million years ago (Coniacian to Campanian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Oviraptoridae |
| Named by | Osborn 1924 |
| Fossil records | 3 occurrences at 3 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Mongolia, Kazakhstan |
| Rock formations | Djadokhta, Dabrazhin |
About Oviraptor
Oviraptor (; lit. 'egg thief') is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapman Andrews, and in the following year the genus and type species Oviraptor philoceratops were named by Henry Fairfield Osborn. The genus name refers to the initial thought of egg-stealing habits, and the specific name was intended to reinforce this view indicating a preference over ceratopsian eggs. Despite the fact that numerous specimens have been referred to the genus, Oviraptor is only known from a single partial skeleton regarded as the holotype, as well as a nest of about fifteen eggs and several small fragments from a juvenile.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Oviraptor (revision 1357658525), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in.
