Citipati

Citipati is an exceptionally well-documented oviraptorid theropod from the Late Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation of Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia. About the size of an emu, it possessed a tall, rounded cassowary-like crest on its skull and a toothless, parrot-like beak suited for consuming hard-shelled molluscs, seeds, or small vertebrates. Citipati is famous in palaeontology because several adult specimens were discovered preserved sitting directly atop clutches of elongate eggs arranged in neat circles. The brooding adults shielded their nests with outstretched forelimbs, showing that dinosaur arms were already feathered wings used to incubate and protect developing young from harsh desert conditions. Indeed, many iconic museum reconstructions originally labelled as Oviraptor actually depict Citipati, as its complete and uncrushed fossils provide the standard anatomical blueprint for Late Cretaceous oviraptorids.

Several skeletons have been preserved directly brooding over clutches of eggs, just like modern nesting birds.

Where and when

Citipati lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 75 to 71 million years ago (Campanian age). Its remains come from Mongolia, in the Djadokhta Formation.

The numbers

Length 2.8 m (estimates run from 2.5 to 3 m). Mass about 87 kg. Hip height about 1.4 m. That is 1.6 human-lengths, or 0.25 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Citipati with a bus Place on the timeline