Citipati
chit-ee-PAH-tee
"funeral pyre lord"
Type species Citipati osmolskae
- Lived
- 84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Length
- about 2.1 m (7 ft)
- Group
- Theropods, Oviraptoridae
- Found in
- Mongolia
- Named by
- Clark et al. 2001
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical theropod shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
80 million years ago
Habitat
A dry landscape of sand dunes in Mongolia. Its neighbors included Velociraptor, Protoceratops and Pinacosaurus.
A Dinosaur Vault short
The Dinosaur We Accused of Stealing Eggs
Oviraptor was named the egg thief after it was found beside a nest. Then embryos and brooding Citipati showed the eggs were its own kind's, and the adults were sitting on them.
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About Citipati
What it was like
Citipati was an oviraptorid, a feathered dinosaur about 2.1 meters (7 feet) long with a short, toothless beak and a tall crest on its head, a bit like a cassowary. It had long arms with feathers and probably ate a mix of plants and small animals.
It is best known from skeletons found sitting on nests of eggs, arms spread over the clutch the way a bird broods. These fossils show that bird-like nesting behavior began in dinosaurs.
Its world
It lived about 84 to 72 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Mongolia. Its fossils come from the Djadokhta Formation, a dry land of sand dunes.
It shared that land with Velociraptor, Protoceratops, Oviraptor and the armored Pinacosaurus. Sandstorms and collapsing dunes buried many animals there quickly, which is why the fossils are so well preserved.
How it was found
Clark and colleagues named Citipati in 2001. The type species is Citipati osmolskae. Some of its nesting skeletons had first been thought to be Oviraptor.
Field gallery
More views of Citipati
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Citipati.
The evidence
The science behind Citipati
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A nearly complete skeleton preserves a short, toothless skull with a tall crest and large air spaces inside the bones.
- Adults were buried sitting over nests of eggs, with their arms spread around the clutch.
- An embryo inside an egg has been assigned to Citipati by the shape of its snout.
Borrowed from relatives
- Almost the whole skeleton is known from its own bones.
- Its feather covering is restored by comparison with feathered oviraptorosaurs such as Caudipteryx.
Still unknown
- Its feather colors and patterns.
- Which foods made up most of its diet.
- Whether adults nested in groups.
Discovery timeline
- 1995New findNorell et al.
- 2001Named itClark, Norell & Barsbold
- 2001Growing upNORELL, CLARK & CHIAPPE
- 2002SkullCLARK, NORELL & ROWE
- 2018New findNorell et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Citipati
New find
Reported an adult later assigned to Citipati sitting over eggs in a posture like a brooding bird.
A nesting dinosaur. Nature 378: 774-776
Read the paper : A nesting dinosaur (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named Citipati from a nearly complete skeleton and assigned a nesting adult and an embryo to the same species.
Two new oviraptorids (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria), Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation, Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21: 209-213
Read the paper : Two new oviraptorids (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria), Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation, Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia (opens in a new tab)Growing up
Described an embryo with well-developed bones, suggesting that the young could move around soon after hatching.
An Embryonic Oviraptorid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 3315: 1-20
Read the paper : An Embryonic Oviraptorid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia (opens in a new tab)Skull
Described the skull's extensive air spaces and showed that Citipati had shorter jaws than Oviraptor.
Cranial Anatomy of Citipati osmolskae (Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria), and a Reinterpretation of the Holotype of Oviraptor philoceratops. American Museum Novitates 3364: 1-24
Read the paper : Cranial Anatomy of Citipati osmolskae (Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria), and a Reinterpretation of the Holotype of Oviraptor philoceratops (opens in a new tab)New find
Described another brooding Citipati with the same egg arrangement and shell structure as the earlier nesting specimen.
A Second Specimen ofCitipati OsmolskaeAssociated With a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 3899: 1-44
Read the paper : A Second Specimen ofCitipati OsmolskaeAssociated With a Nest of Eggs from Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Oviraptoridae
Sources: Wikidata