Conchoraptor

Name: Conchoraptor ‭(‬Conch thief‭)‬.
Phonetic: Conch-o-rap-tor.
Named By: Rinchen Barsbold‭ ‬-‭ ‬1986.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saursichia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Oviraptorosauria,‭ ‬Oviraptoridae,‭ ‬Oviraptorinae.
Species: C.‭ ‬gracilis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: Roughly‭ up to ‬2‭ ‬meters.
Known locations: Mongolia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Barun Goyot Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skull and partial post cranial skeleton.‭ ‬Now many individuals have been attributed to the genus.




       Originally thought to represent a juvenile Oviraptor,‭ ‬Conchoraptor was established as a distinct genus in‭ ‬1986.‭ ‬While the snout of the skull is raised like in other oviraptorids,‭ ‬Conchoraptor does not possess a head crest like most other known oviraptorids.‭ ‬Rinchen Barsbold,‭ ‬the palaeontologist who first described Conchoraptor speculated that Conchoraptor,‭ ‬and possibly other oviraptorids may have fed upon molluscs since their beaks would have been well suited to crushing shells.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬it is at this time still impossible to be sure about‭ ‬the diets of oviraptorids given that their beaks could have been used for anything,‭ ‬and only confirmed stomach contents would allow us to be sure about the specific diet of a certain genus

Further reading
-‭ ‬Raubdinosaurier Oviraptoren,‭ ‬by Rinchen Barsbold.‭ ‬In Herpetologische Untersuchungen in der Mongolischen Volksrepublik.‭ ‬Akademia Nauk SSSR.‭ ‬pp.‭ ‬210-223.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬I.‭ ‬Vorobyeva‭ (‬ed‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬1986.
-‭ ‬Avian-like attributes of a virtual brain model of the oviraptorid theropod Conchoraptor gracilis.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Naturwissenschaften‭ ‬94:‭ ‬499-504.‭ ‬-‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Kundrat‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.
-‭ ‬Cranial pneumatization and auditory perceptions of the oviraptorid dinosaur Conchoraptor gracilis‭ (‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Maniraptora‭) ‬from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Naturwissenschaften‭ ‬94:769‭–‬778.‭ ‬-‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Kundrat‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬Janacek‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.



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