Rare Egg Nest with Dinosaur Bones
Oviraptor sp.
Cretaceous
Nanxiang Basin, Guandong Province
China
First found in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, in 1924 and described by Henry F. Osborn, Oviraptor was a small, fast-moving, birdlike dinosaur that walked on two long, slender legs. It possessed a curved, flexible, S-shaped neck, a long tail, short, strong arms and curved claws on its three-fingered hands and three-toed feet. Oviraptor was most likely an omnivore, which is unusual for dinosaurs. Initially thought to be an “egg robber,” the phrase from which the genus name originates, Oviraptor is now known to be a relatively large-brained dinosaur that cared for its eggs.

The present specimen is an extremely large nest with 23 visible eggs. Associated with the nest are the bones of an Oviraptor that may have been guarding the nest. The right arm—from the humerous to the claw--is represented, as well as is the corocoid, partial right tibia, several rib fragments and a very complete set of gastralia, still inflated. This is an excellent, rare and well preserved egg nest.
Measuring 27 x 24 x 12in
Average egg size approximately 7in