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Conchoraptor
Conchoraptor
Conchoraptor
Fossil range: Late Cretaceous
Profile of Conchoraptor gracilis.
Scientific classification Kingdom: Phylum: Class: Superorder: Order: Suborder: Infraorder: Family: Genus: Species: Animalia Chordata Sauropsida Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Coelurosauria Oviraptoridae Conchoraptor C. gracilis
Skull of Conchoraptor from the University of Alberta. that Conchoraptor was a juvenile Oviraptor and that the animal’s missing crest would have begun to grow when the animal reaching sexual maturity.[1] Further study of multiple skeletons showed that Conchoraptor belonged in a new genus.[1] The type species of this new genus, Conchoraptor gracilis, was described by Barsbold, in 1986. Conchoraptor’s hands were a major reason that scientists decided to split it off from Oviraptor.[1] Anatomically the hands seemed to be an evolutionary intermediate between those of "Ingenia" and Oviraptor, making it obvious that this animal was not a member of a known species.[1]
Binomial name Conchoraptor gracilis
Barsbold, 1986
Conchoraptor (meaning "conch thief") was an oviraptorid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of what is now Asia. Its name reflects the hypothesis that oviraptorids, rather than preying primarily upon eggs as had been traditionally thought, may have been specialized to feed on mollusks.[1]
Description
Conchoraptor was a small dinosaur, of only 1-2 meters (4-6 feet) in length.[1] Unlike many other oviraptorids, Conchoraptor lacked a head crest, although it did lack teeth, a typical oviraptorid characteristic.[1] Instead of teeth, oviraptorids had powerful beaks, possibly adapted to crushing mollusc shells.[1]
See also
• Nemegt Formation Related animals • "Ingenia"
References
[1] ^ "Conchoraptor." In: Dodson, Peter & Britt, Brooks & Carpenter, Kenneth & Forster, Catherine A. & Gillette, David D. & Norell, Mark A. & Olshevsky, George & Parrish, J. Michael & Weishampel, David B. The Age of Dinosaurs.
Classification
When first discovered in the Nemegt Formation during the 1970s,[1] scientists believed
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Publications International, LTD. p. 136. ISBN 0-7853-0443-6.
Conchoraptor
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