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Conchoraptor
Small Dino Big Beak

Conchoraptor was a small, bipedal dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period, between 70 and 66 million years ago. It only stood between 3 and 6 feet high and weighed .  It did not have teeth, but a strong beak, possibly to feed on mollusks by crushing their shells to get the soft meat inside.


Dino Fact File- Conchoraptor
Name
Conchoraptor
Classification
Saurischian-Theropod
Food
Carnivore
Length
3-6 feet
height
3 feet
weight
20 pounds
Range
Mongolia
Time Period
Late Cretaceous Period


The first Conchoraptor fossils found, was discovered in 1971, on an expedition in Mongolia. Conchoraptor was a relative of another type of dinosaur, called an Oviraptor. The head of Oviraptor was decorated with bony crests, but this specimen had no such decoration. When the fossil was found, it was believed to be a young oviraptor, whose crest had simply not developed at time of death. After further skeletal study though, it was indeed proven to be a different species. Conchoraptor was established as a distinct genus by Dr. Rinchin Barsbold in 1986.


The Conchoraptor Timeline

Mesozoic
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
ok

The name comes from the Greek konkhè, meaning "mussel", and Latin raptor, meaning “plunderer.” Barsbold named it ‘conchoraptor, because of his hypothesis that rather than preying primarily upon eggs as had been traditionally thought, his discovery may have been specialized to feed on mollusks.


The skull of Conchoraptor was made up of hollow bones and had internal connections. These connected between both ears functioned as resonance chambers and improved hearing.


Conchoraptor Fossil LocationsConchoraptor Fossil Locations


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