Citipati

tags: evolution, behavioral ecology, parental care, egg incubation, dinosaurs, birds The Oviraptorid dinosaur, Citipati osmolskae, on a nest of eggs that was unearthed in the Gobi desert of Mongolia by the American Museum of Natural History. Image: Mick Ellison, American Museum of Natural History. Oviraptors ("egg seizer") were given their name because their fossil remains were first discovered on top of a pile of eggs. Because of their close proximity to clutches of dinosaur eggs, it was initially assumed that these dinosaurs were eating them. However, in his 1924 paper, their…

In 1995, a palaeontologist called Mark Norrell reported an amazing discovery - the fossilised remains of a dinosaur called Troodon, sitting on top of a large clutch of eggs. The fossil was so well-preserved and its posture so unmistakeable that it provided strong proof that some dinosaurs incubated their eggs just as modern birds do. And since then, two other small predatory species - Oviraptor and Citipati - have been found in brooding positions on top of egg clutches. But a subtler look at these fossils reveal much more about dinosaur parenting than the simple fact that it existed. To…