Body length
InferredAbout 2.1 m; museum reference
NHM gives a rounded genus figure with no specified specimen or life stage. It is not a maximum size claim. [D1]
EXHIBIT 29
Citipati
Citipati
A dinosaur preserved with its arms spread over a nest.
TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST
Science & the silver screen
Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.
01 / SCIENTIFIC RECONSTRUCTION
An animal, reconstructed
Image unavailableCitipati osmolskae life reconstruction by PaleoNeolitic. Bipedal oviraptorid with short deep beaked skull, cranial crest and long arms; feathered forelimbs are reconstructed from related evidence.This scientific picture needs an internet connection. Its source link and image notes remain available.
The artist identifies this reconstruction as Citipati osmolskae. This view illustrates one form within the genus, rather than every species or individual. Fossil-informed anatomy: Bipedal oviraptorid with short deep beaked skull, cranial crest and long arms; feathered forelimbs are reconstructed from related evidence. Feathers and coloration are interpretive; species reconstruction represents the genus. [1] [2] [3]
Citipati osmolskae Restoration.png — PaleoNeolitic. CC BY 4.0. Remote source artwork displayed without additional cropping; Wikimedia supplies any display-size derivative.
Scientific picture served by Wikimedia · internet connection required.
02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION
A cinematic imagination
Image unavailableOriginal cinematic Citipati picture: Cinematic Citipati in a birdlike brooding pose, beaked crested head, plausible feathered arms spread over eggs; full body visible in warm Gobi light.The exhibit and its image notes remain available.
Cinematic Citipati in a birdlike brooding pose, beaked crested head, plausible feathered arms spread over eggs; full body visible in warm Gobi light. Dramatic lighting, surface detail and scenery are artistic choices. This is an original cinema-inspired picture, rather than a frame from a film or a documented fossil locality.
Original artwork · artistic interpretation.
Scientific view: credited paleoart interpreting fossil evidence, served online by Wikimedia. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Colors, soft tissues and settings involve reconstruction.
PERIODLate Cretaceous[1]
DIETOmnivoreInferred from related anatomy [1]
TOTAL LENGTHNot established hereComparable estimate unavailable
FOSSILS FOUNDMongolia[1]
MEET THE ANIMAL
Meet Citipati
Citipati was a two-legged dinosaur from Late Cretaceous Mongolia with a beak rather than teeth. The Natural History Museum lists an omnivorous diet, meaning that both plant and animal foods are proposed. That broad interpretation is useful for imagining its place in an ecosystem, but it is not a list of meals directly recovered from every Citipati fossil. [D1]
One specimen nicknamed Big Mama gives unusually strong evidence about nesting. Its skeleton was preserved curled over a nest of eggs, a position interpreted as brooding. Brooding means sitting over eggs to help incubate or protect them. The roughly 75-million-year-old Mongolian fossil was announced in 1995 and later identified as Citipati when that genus was named in 2001. [S1]
This is much more informative than finding scattered eggs alone: the adult's position connects an animal with a particular nest. Even so, a single frozen moment cannot reveal its whole breeding season. The fossil supports care at the egg stage, while leaving questions about later chick care, courtship and division of parental duties unanswered in this account. [S1]
Overview sources
- Were dinosaurs good parents?Natural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-04Inspected: page
PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER
A life in profile.
The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.
Citipati is an oviraptorid best known for fossils positioned over egg clutches in a bird-like brooding posture. Its well-preserved skull also documents extensive internal air spaces, while its precise diet and mating system remain less certain.
Profile scope: Genus: Citipati; brooding and skull evidence concerns C. osmolskae.
- Time
- Late Cretaceous
- Fossil locations in this exhibit
- Mongolia
How to read the evidence
Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.
A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.
Body mass
Not establishedNot established here
The reviewed sources do not establish a numerical body-mass estimate for this record.
Diet
InferredPossible omnivore; exact foods unresolved
NHM lists omnivory, but the reviewed material does not establish a menu through gut contents. Beak form alone does not reveal every food consumed. [D1]
Habitat & fossil setting
Source supportedDjadokhta Formation, Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia
DigiMorph identifies the formation and locality for the C. osmolskae holotype. This is fossil context rather than a demonstrated habitat preference. [D3]
Movement
InferredBipedal theropod; gait unreviewed
Museum skeletal reconstructions show a two-legged theropod. The inspected sources do not establish a running speed or complete gait model. [D2]
Distinctive anatomy
Source supportedBeaked skull with extensive pneumatic recesses
CT work on the holotype documents numerous skull recesses interpreted as air spaces. The skull differs from the true Oviraptor holotype. [D3]
Reproduction & life together
Reproduction & nesting
Source supportedEgg laying; bird-like brooding posture
C. osmolskae fossils are positioned over nests with the forearms spread around the eggs. Which sex brooded and how parental duties were divided remain unresolved. [D2]
Courtship & mating
Not establishedNot established here
The reviewed sources do not establish a mating ritual, pair bond or breeding season for this taxon.
Social behavior
Not establishedNot established here
The reviewed sources do not establish a taxon-specific group structure or social hierarchy.
Dossier research & sources
Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.
- Citipati — Dino DirectoryNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Museum genus reference; life stage and specimen not specified. · Inspected: page
- Get to Know a Dino: Citipati osmolskaeAmerican Museum of Natural History · Accessed 2026-10-02C. osmolskae brooding fossil and limits of parental-sex interpretations. · Inspected: page
- Citipati osmolskae — expert CT annotationUniversity of Texas DigiMorph; Clark, Norell & Rowe (2002) · Accessed 2026-10-02C. osmolskae holotype skull; comparison with O. philoceratops and rejected older referral. · Inspected: page
THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS
Meet Citipati.
A Citipati skeleton was preserved over the centre of a nest with its forearms extended around the eggs. The posture resembles brooding in living birds. It provides unusually direct evidence that nesting behavior was already present among dinosaurs outside the modern bird lineage. [2]
Museum and Mongolian Academy of Sciences researchers discovered the first Citipati specimens at Ukhaa Tolgod in 1993. Its well-preserved skull also reveals extensive internal air spaces. Comparisons with that skull helped distinguish true Oviraptor from a different, frequently illustrated oviraptorid skeleton. [2] [3]
A note on scale and time
We have not established a comparable adult total-length estimate for this taxon in this draft. Specimen measurements in the text describe those individuals. The cited dates are approximately 81–75 million years ago. Approximate museum catalogue reference interval for the genus, not an exact duration for every species. Unknown does not mean zero.
Sources & editorial notes
Sources and evidence notes for this exhibit.
- Citipati — Dino DirectoryNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Profile and Taxonomic details. Genus diet is an educational interpretation; 2.1 m is not given an adult life-stage scope.
- Get to Know a Dino: Citipati osmolskaeAmerican Museum of Natural History · Accessed 2026-10-02Protective Pose; Doting Dads?; In Good Company. Fossil pose supports nesting behavior; parental sex and division of duties are explicitly unknown. Feathered model is a reconstruction.
- Citipati osmolskae — expert CT annotation from Clark, Norell and Rowe (2002)DigiMorph, University of Texas at Austin · Accessed 2026-10-02Expert annotation, paragraphs quoted from the original cranial paper, especially poorly preserved Oviraptor holotype, elongated rostrum/dentary and reassignment of IGM 100/42. Skull record is species-specific.
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