Open Paleo

Conchoraptor

Barsbold, 1986 KONG-ko-RAP-tor

From Greek konche ('conch shell') + Latin raptor ('plunderer' or 'thief'), meaning 'conch plunderer', suggesting the animal may have fed on mollusks.

85.7–66.0 million years ago Santonian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Conchoraptor is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 70 million years ago. It is known from the Baruungoyot and possibly the Nemegt formation of Mongolia.

Diagnosis

  1. Cranium lacking a pronounced crest
  2. Premaxilla with a vertical anterior margin
  3. Maxilla with a large accessory antorbital fenestra
  4. Nasals with three dorsal fenestrae per side
  5. Postorbital extending nearly to the bottom of the orbit
  6. Parietal with a low sagittal crest
  7. Enlarged first manual digit

Species

Conchoraptor gracilis Barsbold, 1986

Type species

From Latin 'gracilis' meaning 'gracile' or 'slender', referring to the slender build of the animal.

Holotype
MPC-D 100/20 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material
Nearly complete skull, partial mandible, and manus.
Horizon
Baruungoyot Formation, Santonian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 85.7–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Hermiin Tsav, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

References

  1. Barsbold, R. (1986). Raubdinosaurier Oviraptoren. Herpetologische Untersuchungen in der Mongolischen Volksrepublik (Vorobyeva, E. I., ed.) 210-223. Akademia Nauk SSSR.

    In German.

    barsbold1986a
  2. Maryańska, T.; Osmólska, H.; Wolsan, M. (2002). Avialan status for Oviraptorosauria. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 47(1): 97-116. maryańska2002a
  3. Funston, G. F.; Mendonca, S. E.; Currie, P. J.; Barsbold, R. (2018). Oviraptorosaur anatomy, diversity and ecology in the Nemegt Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 494: 101-120. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.10.023

    Lists the holotype (MPC-D 100/20) and provides an emended diagnosis of Conchoraptor gracilis.

    funston2018a
  4. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass and hip height estimates, and the appearance features.

    jones2026c