Fun Corythoraptor Facts For Kids

The Corythoraptor is a type of dinosaur genus that lived during the Cretaceous period. This Ganzhou oviraptorid was one of the seven oviraptorids that were discovered in China. Even though their type specimen evidently proved that it was a primitive dinosaur, their features were astonishingly similar to modern da flightless birds. The Corythoraptor specimen was discovered first by a paleontologist of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences named Lu Junchang and his associates in China. A complete skeleton of the oviraptorid dinosaur was discovered from the Nanxiong Formation, they are one of the best-preserved Oviraptotrosaurians that were ever discovered. The fossil specimen is now preserved in a museum in the Liaoning Province.

Their skeleton has a well-developed bony crest on the head, the crest of Corythoraptor looked like the crest of the cassowaries. The Corythoraptor was not the only oviraptorid to have such a head crest, many other species also got such distinct crest. The remarkable cassowary-like crest is the distinguishing feature of the species that keeps it apart from other oviraptorosaurs. To know more interesting facts about the Corythoraptor, keep on reading the article on Corythoraptor facts.

For similar article content, check out Coahuilaceratops and Machairoceratops facts too.

How do you pronounce 'Corythoraptor'?

The Corythoraptor or 'crested thief' dinosaur is an oviraptorid species. It is pronounced as 'koh-rith-o-rap-tuhr'. The full scientific name of the species is Corythoraptor jacobsi, named after Louis L. Jacobs, a paleontologist. The name Corythoraptor means the crested raptor of the crested thief in reference to their Cassowary-like crest on the head.

What type of dinosaur was a Corythoraptor?

The Corythoraptor is one of the seven oviraptorid dinosaurs found in Ganzhou in China. The oviraptorosaurian dinosaurs were a clade of giant bird-like dinosaurs. They were a group of coelurosaurian dinosaurs that had deep skull toothless jaw. The crest of the Ganzhou oviraptorid Corythoraptor resembled the crest of Cassowary. The cassowary is a bird that is found today in New Guinea and Australia. The Corythoraptor is a bird-like dinosaur that also bears similarities to the modern-day ostrich in its body shape and long, slender neck except for the crest, which resembles the modern-day cassowaries.

In which geological period did the Corythoraptor roam the earth?

The Corythoraptors were one of the latest genera of the dinosaur kingdom. The new species Corythoraptor came into existence during the later stage of the Maastrichtian age. The Maastrichtian age was the last age of the Late Cretaceous era.

When did the Corythoraptor become extinct?

The Corythoraptor became extinct approximately 65 million years ago. However, the exact time when the dinosaurs went extinct is not accurately known.

Where did a Corythoraptor live?

The Corythoraptor jacobsi fossils were discovered from the  Nanxiong Formation of China. These Asian dinosaurs inhabited the southern Chinese provinces in the Maastrichtian age.

What was a Corythoraptor's habitat?

The Corythoraptor probably lived in a lakeside habitat. The oviraptorosaurs fossils of southern China genera were all found mostly from the Nanxiong Formation. This indicates that most of them lived in similar types of habitats. They preferred a warm and moist habitat.

Who did a Corythoraptor live with?

The assembly of six different oviraptorid genera formed a distinct province called the Ganzhou Dinosaurian Fauna. Many other species of dinosaurs coexisted in the Ganzhou Dinosaurian Fauna along with the Corythoraptor dinosaur.

How long did a Corythoraptor live?

The Corythoraptor was an extinct genus of the late Jurassic. They lived roughly from 100 million years ago to 65 million years ago.

How did they reproduce?

The method of reproduction in the Corythoraptor was oviparous, females laid eggs in clutches and the juveniles emerged from such clutches. In the breeding process of the Corythoraptors, their crest had a significant role. It is believed that the crest of Corythoraptor denoted the dinosaur's fitness during the mating season. It probably also helped in communication between the two sexes during breeding. In the modern-day cassowary, the crest helps it to produce grunting noises to attract opposite sexes to breed. However, there is no evidence that the cassowary-like crest helped them to produce any such grunting noise. Probably flaunting their flamboyant head crest was enough for the species. The skeleton that was discovered was believed to be the fossil of an eight years old juvenile Corythoraptor. Yet, a helmet-like casque that was meant for sexual signaling was noted in the juvenile individual. This hinted that the dinosaurs possibly started to breed before they reached their full adult size.  

What did a Corythoraptor look like?

The Corythoraptors were tall dinosaurs with enlarged legs. The Corythoraptor fossils structure resemble the present-day ostrich that is native to New Guinea and Australia. Their skull had a cassowary-like casque, which is not observed in the case of an ostrich bird. Almost a complete skeletal reconstruction could be recovered including the skull and lower jaw. The shape of the lower jaw indicates that the recovered holotype belonged to a juvenile Corythoraptor. The casque or the helmet was quite tall with two large eye-sockets on the base. These dinosaurs were characterized by enormous legs that composed most of their total length and scrawny neck. The head crest was composed of the skull roofing bone of the dinosaur. The structure of the hip was similar to the general structure of Saurischia hips.

How many bones did a Corythoraptor have?

The total number of bones present in the body of the Corythoraptor could not be determined. They are known for some distinctive bones like the partial casque, Corythoraptor skull, and lower jaw. Most of the cranial skeleton of the dinosaur could be discovered.

How did they communicate?

Communication was probably visual for these dinosaurs. The casque also probably helped in communicating.

How big was a Corythoraptor?

The Corythoraptors were tall dinosaurs that reached 5.25 ft (1.6 m) in length. They were 2 ft (0.6 m) smaller in size than the Stygimoloch.

How fast could a Corythoraptor move?

The Corythoraptors had long legs, which suggest that they were great runners. However, their speed has not been determined.

How much did a Corythoraptor weigh?

The weight of a Corythoraptor has not been determined.

What were the male and female names of the species?

The male and the female species do not have any particular names, both were referred to as Corythoraptor.

What would you call a baby Corythoraptor?

A baby Corythoraptor was referred to as a nestling.

What did they eat?

They were probably omnivores Some scientific reports suggest that the Corythoraptors ate plants while some indicate that they preyed on shellfish. The actual diet is uncertain.

How aggressive were they?

The Corythorator was not aggressive generally, but they probably used their headdress to attack their predators.

Did you know...

The sixth and the eleventh dorsal vertebrae of the Corythoraptors were the longest.

What is the meaning of Corythoraptor?

The Corythoraptor gets its name from the cassowary-like crest on its skull. The name Corythoraptor comes from the Greek word koryfogrammi which means crest. The word together with the word raptor means a crested raptor or a crested thief. The name of the type species of the dinosaur, Corythoraptor jacobsi was in honor of the American paleontologist, Louis L. Jacobs.

What environment did Corythoraptor live in?

The Corythoraptor fossil was discovered from the Nanxiong Formation near Jiangxi province in South China. The Ganzhou area of southern China sheltered many oviraptorid dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous. The Corythoraptor was one of them. Therefore it can be said that the environment of Ganzhou was ideal for the crested Corythoraptors. It is also believed that the crest of Corythoraptor helped in controlling the body temperature of the new species. The oviraptorid dinosaur is well renowned for its ecological diversity along with the other six genera of oviraptorosaurs. The environment was most probably a lakeside environment during the Cretaceous period. It completely differed from the modern-day environment of Southern China.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Agujaceratops facts, or Sinocalliopteryx fun facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable winged dinosaurs coloring pages.

*We've been unable to source an image of Corythoraptor and have used an image of a Edmontonia dinosaur instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Corythoraptor, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected]