Another Missed Dinosaur

I truly love finding that I have somehow overlooked a dinosaur that I am and have been aware of for quite some time. This week that dinosaur that I suddenly remembered existed is Citipati osmolskae. Citipati is one of the better known oviraptorids and one of the most iconic members of its family. Possessing a crest on its forehead and a beak characteristic of other oviraptorids. Probably covered completely in feathers, Citipati was a large dinosaur at approximately 3m (10ft) long and were the largest members of their family known between 2001 and 2007. Clark, Norell, and Barsbold named Citipati (Hindi for funeral pyre) after the highly successful paleontologist Halszka Osmólska of Poland. Osmólska was a prolific discoverer and describer of oviraptorids and theropods of Mongolia where Citipati was also discovered.

Display from "Dinosaurs. Treasures of Gobi Desert" in CosmoCaixa, Barcelona.
Photo by Eduard Solà