Oviraptor is a genus of theropod dinosaur belonging to the group Oviraptorosauria. It lived during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 75 to 70 million years ago. The first fossils of Oviraptor were discovered in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in the 1920s, but it wasn't until later research that its true nature was understood.

Oviraptor was a medium-sized theropod dinosaur, measuring about 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) in length. Its body was relatively slender, with long legs adapted for swift movement. One of the most distinctive features of Oviraptor was its toothless beak, which indicates its herbivorous or omnivorous diet.

Oviraptor was a strange looking animal, especially for a theropod. It had a short snout, toothless jaws and a rounded mass of thin bone over its nose, rather resembling a chicken´s comb. Oviraptor had slender limbs and like its closest relatives, was probably fast on its feet. It was one of the most birdlike nonavian dinosaurs.

It was discovered in the 1920s during the American expeditions to Mongolia. Most of its specimens were found near nests of dinosaur eggs. Because the eggs were thought to have belonged to protoceratops (a small common ceraptsion in that region) it was assumed that oviraptor was stealing eggs. The eggs however lacked embryos. During the 1990s when American teams returned to the site, they found more eggs that were without embryos and also eggs that contained skeletons of embryos. However the one with embryos were eggs of oviraptors. So, it was accused of being an egg thief, even though it was later discovered that this was not true.