In Depth
Rinchenia was originally described as a species of Oviraptor by Rinchen Barsbold in 1986, but a later re-evaluation identified the species as a distinct genus. Unfortunately for Oviraptor, this removed the only skull were the crest is preserved, meaning that reconstructions of Oviraptor are now based upon Rinchenia. This might not be a huge problem however since the two genera resemble each other in so many other ways, they may have had similar crests too. However since this crest was presumably for display, there might be some difference in the exact size and form, though the difference in life may have been as simple as colour.
Further Reading
- “Raubdinosaurier Oviraptoren” [in Russian], Rinchen Barsbold - 1986.
