''Conchoraptor'' (meaning "

conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...

plunderer") is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

oviraptorid Oviraptoridae is a group of bird-like, herbivorous and omnivorous maniraptoran dinosaurs. Oviraptorids are characterized by their toothless, parrot-like beaks and, in some cases, elaborate crests. They were generally small, measuring between on ...

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s that lived in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

during the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

epoch, about 70 million years ago. It is known from the Barun Goyot and Nemegt formations of

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...

Discovery

When first discovered in the Red Beds of Hermiin Tsav of the Early

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interv ...

Nemegt Formation The Nemegt Formation (also known as Nemegtskaya Svita) is a geological formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, dating to the Late Cretaceous. The formation consists of river channel sediments and contains fossils of fish, turtles, crocodilians ...

by a Polish-Mongolian expedition in 1971, scientists believed that ''Conchoraptor'' was a juvenile ''

Oviraptor ''Oviraptor'' (; ) is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapma ...

'' and that the animal's missing crest would have begun to grow when the animal reached

sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definit ...

. Further study of multiple skeletons showed that ''Conchoraptor'' belonged in a new genus. The hands of ''Conchoraptor'' were a major reason that scientists decided to split it off from ''Oviraptor''. Anatomically the hands seemed to be an

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

ary intermediate between those of '' Ajancingenia'' and ''Oviraptor'', making it obvious that this animal was not a member of a known species. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

of this new genus, ''Conchoraptor gracilis'', was described and named by Barsbold, in 1986. The generic name is derived from Greek ''konkhè'', "mussel", and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''raptor'', "plunderer". This name reflects Barsbold's hypothesis that oviraptorids, rather than preying primarily upon eggs as had been traditionally thought, may have been specialized to feed on

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...

s. The specific name means "gracile" in Latin. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

is MPC-D 100/20, a partial skull. Later about two dozen specimens were formally referred to the species.

Description

''Conchoraptor'' was a small dinosaur, only 1–2 meters (3.3-6.6 feet) in length. Unlike many other

s, ''Conchoraptor'' lacked a head crest. Like its relatives, it lacked teeth. Instead of teeth, oviraptorids had powerful beaks, possibly adapted to crushing

shells. The skull of ''Conchoraptor'' was heavily pneumatised, with most of the bones hollow.

Classification

''Conchoraptor'' was by Barsbold assigned to the

Oviraptoridae Oviraptoridae is a group of bird-like, herbivorous and omnivorous maniraptoran dinosaurs. Oviraptorids are characterized by their toothless, parrot-like beaks and, in some cases, elaborate crests. They were generally small, measuring between on ...

in 1986. Recent analyses show it was a member of the oviraptorid subfamily Ingeniinae (now Heyuanninae). The

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...

below follows an analysis by Fanti ''et al.'', 2012.

Paleobiology

Senses

Internal connections between both ears functioned as resonance chambers and improved hearing.

Feeding

Originally it was suggested that Conchoraptor had a diet that primarily consisted of mollusks. A 2022 study of the bite force of ''Conchoraptor'' and comparisons with other oviraptorosaurs such as '' Incisivosaurus'', ''

Citipati ''Citipati'' (; meaning "funeral pyre lord") is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. It is mainly known from the Ukhaa Tolgod locality at the Djadokhta ...

'', and '' Khaan'' instead suggests that ''Conchoraptor'' had a very strong bite force. The moderate jaw gape seen in oviraptorosaurs is indicative of herbivory in the majority of the group, but it is clear they were likely feeding on much tougher or more various types of vegetation than other herbivorous theropods in their environment, such as ornithomimosaurs and therizinosaurs were able to. The examinations suggest oviraptorosaurs may have been powerful-biting generalists or specialists that partook of niche partitioning both in body size and cranial function.

Paleoenvironment

The

of Mongolia, is estimated to date back to the

stage, between 70 and 66 million years ago of the Late

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

period. During the Late Cretaceous period, the land that is now the Nemegt Formation had an arid environment with fields of sand

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s and only intermittent streams. It is slightly younger than the nearby

Djadochta Formation The Djadochta Formation (sometimes transcribed and also known as Djadokhta, Djadokata, or Dzhadokhtskaya) is a highly fossiliferous geological formation situated in Central Asia, Gobi Desert, dating from the Late Cretaceous period, about 75 milli ...

, and seems to have been slightly wetter. This formation is noteworthy for the exquisite preservation of small and fragile dinosaur skeletons, a rare occurrence considering that these fossils are typically broken up and dispersed when found in other rock formations.Novacek, M. J., 1996. "Dinosaurs of the Flaming. Cliffs" Anchor/Doubleday. 367 p. ''Conchoraptor'' shared its habitat with other oviraptorosaurs including '' Avimimus'' and ''

Nomingia ''Nomingia'' is a genus of oviraptorid theropod dinosaur hailing from the Late Cretaceous Bugin Tsav Beds of Mongolia. Discovery and naming The remains, consisting of most of the vertebral column, pelvic girdle and left tibio-tarsus, holoty ...

'', other theropods include troodontids such as '' Tochisaurus'' and ''

Zanabazar Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar, , , "High Saint Zanabazar"; 1635–1723 (born Eshidorji) was the sixteenth ''Jebtsundamba Khutuktu'' and the first ''Bogd Gegeen'' or supreme spiritual authority, of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) lineage of Tibetan Buddhism ...

'', the tyrannosaurids '' Alioramus'' and '' Tarbosaurus''. Ornithischians include the pachycephalosaurs '' Homalocephale'' and '' Prenocephale'', the hadrosaurid ''

Saurolophus ''Saurolophus'' (; meaning "lizard crest") is a genus of large hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Asia and North America, that lived in what is now the Horseshoe Canyon and Nemegt formations about 70 million to 68 millio ...

'', the ankylosaurs '' Saichania'' and '' Tarchia''.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q132558 Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of Asia Oviraptorids Feathered dinosaurs Fossil taxa described in 1986 Taxa named by Rinchen Barsbold Nemegt fauna