OVIRAPTOR

Oviraptor, meaning "egg thief," got its name from a famous misunderstanding! When its fossil was first discovered in Mongolia in 1924, it was found near a nest of what scientists thought were Protoceratops eggs. They assumed it was trying to steal a snack, hence the name. However, later discoveries showed that those eggs actually belonged to Oviraptor itself! It was protecting its own babies!

Oviraptor was a Theropod, part of the same group as the mighty T. rex, but much smaller, standing about 0.8 meters tall. It had a distinctive crest on its head, like a fancy dinosaur hat, which might have been used to attract a mate. Instead of teeth, Oviraptor had a strong beak, which it probably used to crack open eggs (but not always stealing them!), seeds, or shellfish. It was a bipedal dinosaur, meaning it walked on two legs, and could probably run pretty fast, up to 35 km/h, to escape danger or catch its dinner. This dinosaur lived during the Late Cretaceous period, roaming what is now Mongolia.