| If you ask me, I think this animal gets a bad rap. Back when fossils were all scientists had to go on, this Mongolian dune-dweller was branded 'an egg thief'. But you know what... it was really just looking out for its own. So as far as I'm concerned, the Oviraptor is alright in my books. |
Oviraptor is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur in the Jurassic World Evolution series. Originating from Late Cretaceous Asia, it was formerly interpreted as an egg-thieving dinosaur but was actually discovered with its own eggs.
Oviraptor was added to Evolution 2 as a part of the it is Dominion Malta Expansion, and its fossils can be excavated from Djadochta and Nemegt Formations.
Oviraptor then returned in the base game of Evolution 3.
History[]
During the Late Cretaceous period 65 million years ago, an Oviraptor discovered an unguarded nest in a cave and started to feast on one of the eggs before hearing an echoing call.[1]
In 2022, Oviraptors were present in the illegal Amber Clave Market in Valletta, Malta. One individual was forced to fight a Lystrosaurus, only to be killed when the latter used its jaws to decapitate it.[1]
Characteristics[]
A small omnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, Oviraptor has a unique feathered look and a distinctive head crest. Although originally believed to have stolen eggs of other dinosaur species (hence the name Oviraptor, which translates to "Egg Thief"), it has since been understood to be an omnivore possessing an incredibly powerful, effective jaw for its small size. In spite of its name, the misapprehension of it having stolen dinosaurs eggs has long since been rectified. Early specimens were often found near their respective nests. While this suggests that Oviraptor was inclined to eat the eggs of other dinosaurs, experts now believe they were brooding the eggs until they hatched. The base genome has a brown body covered in a white coat of feathers, gray scales, a red beak and head crest, and a black stripe running down its body from the neck to the tail.
Gameplay[]
Behavior[]
Paleontology[]
While the family of oviraptorsauridae varied in sizes from between 72.5 cm and 3.7 m (2.4 and 12 ft) and weighed between 5 and 300 kgs (11 and 660 lb) ā with larger ones, such as Gigantoraptor, growing to 8 m (26 ft) long and weighing 2 t (4,409 lb) ā the namesake species Oviraptor itself was relatively small, measuring between 1.53 and 2 m (5 and 6 ft) long and weighing 40 kg (88 lb), slightly larger than the Jurassic World incarnation. The first Oviraptor specimen was excavated from the Flaming Cliffs of the Djadokhta Formation, Mongolia in 1923 by the American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews. His find consisted of a partial skull, vertebrae, ribs and part of its left arm, and was unearthed alongside two other previously undiscovered specimens, Velociraptor and Saurornthoides. When it was first discovered, Oviraptor was sitting on a nest of eggs originally thought to belong to another dinosaur, possibly Protoceratops. And for the longest time, Oviraptor and its relatives (such as Citipati, Ojoraptorsaurus, Anzu, and so on) were largely considered to have been theropod dinosaurs that stole and ate the eggs of other dinosaurs, hence their nickname "egg thieves" as it suggests. Years later, it was found that the eggs were its own and that it was trying to protect them from an approaching sandstorm.
Paleoecology[]
Oviraptor group
Oviraptor lived in Asia, specifically Mongolia, during the Late Cretaceous period, roughly 90 to 70 million years ago, which had a very hot, dry climate during this period. It lived alongside many other genera of dinosaurs, such as Velociraptor, Protoceratops, Byronosaurus, and Shuvuuia. Oviraptor used its powerful jaw to crush its food - research suggests it was happy eating everything from meat and fish to eggs and even fruit.
Behind the scenes[]
The Oviraptor disliking the Lystrosaurus is a reference to an extended scene in which Kayla Watts' Lystrosaurus is sold to someone and then used to fight an Oviraptor. In this scene, the Lystrosaurus grabs the Oviraptor and decapitates it. The decapitated Oviraptor then runs around like a headless chicken.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Oviraptor is the very first omnivorous dinosaur in Jurassic World Evolution 2.
- Although several other dinosaurs are omnivores in real life, in the game they only have a certain diet, such as the ornithomimids (Gallimimus, Struthiomimus, and Archaeornithomimus), as well as Tapejara.
- The Oviraptor in Jurassic World Evolution 2 bears a great resemblance to Citipati.
References[]
- ā 1.0 1.1 Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2022). Jurassic World Dominion [Film]. Universal Pictures.
External links[]
- Oviraptor on Wikipedia
