Gobiraptor

Say it: GO-bee-rap-tor

Name means: “Gobi thief”1

Ate: A bit of everythingOdd feathered dinosLate Cretaceous

Gobiraptor was a small, bird-like dinosaur that lived in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. It had a very strong, thick lower jaw that it used to crush hard foods like seeds or clams.1

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Altan Uul III, Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia1

Food

A bit of everything1 2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Gobiraptor had a very unusual lower jaw. The front part was thick and strong, with small holes and ridges on the inside that helped it crush hard food.1

The only known Gobiraptor fossil is a young animal. Scientists know this because they studied the bone structure of its thigh bone.1

Gobiraptor lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.2

Gobiraptor was not a fast runner. Its feet were not built for speed, so it probably did not chase after prey.1

Gobiraptor is not closely related to other oviraptorids that lived in the same place at the same time. It is more closely related to oviraptorids from southern China.1

The fossil of Gobiraptor was found together with bones of alvarezsaurids and larger oviraptorids.1

AI-made picture of Gobiraptor — An AI-made picture of how Gobiraptor might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Gobiraptor

?What did Gobiraptor eat?

Gobiraptor probably ate hard foods like seeds and clams. Its thick lower jaw had a grinding plate that helped crush them.3 1

?How big was Gobiraptor?

The only known Gobiraptor fossil is from a young animal, so its full adult size is not known. It was small, as its species name minutus means 'the minute one'.3 1

?When did Gobiraptor live?

Gobiraptor lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.3

?Was Gobiraptor a dinosaur?

Yes, Gobiraptor was a dinosaur. It was a type of oviraptorid theropod, a bird-like dinosaur.3 1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Gobiraptor
Named by: Lee et al. 20194
Group: Odd feathered dinos
Family / clade: Oviraptoridae4
Classification: Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria4
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)4
Rock formations: Nemegt4
Countries: Mongolia4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Gobiraptor was named in 2019 by a team of scientists including Lee. The only fossil was found in 2008 during a Korea-Mongolia expedition in the Gobi Desert.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly what Gobiraptor ate. Its strong jaw suggests it crushed hard seeds or shells, but its exact diet is still debated.1

Where the facts come from

A new baby oviraptorid dinosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia | PLOS One (journals.plos.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Gobiraptor (en.wikipedia.org)
Gobiraptor in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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