EONS: 677 GENUINE DINOSAUR EGG, OVIRAPTOR, AFFORDABLE

EONS: 677 GENUINE DINOSAUR EGG, OVIRAPTOR, AFFORDABLE QUALITY

CONDITION REPORT:

RESTORATION: none anywhere in any amount
SHELL TEXTURE (where 5 is best): 4.0
PALEO LAB PREPARATION TIME: 2 hours
PRESERVATIVE: removable archival grade B72 which gives the specimen a matte sheen
COMMENT: No shell was added, moved, enhanced, restored or altered in any way. Exactly as we uncovered it, is exactly as you see it here. Some of the missing eggshell is probably deeper within the egg and can be confirmed with a CT scan. The color variation throughout the specimen is 100% natural (probably due to ground water flow over tens of millions of years) but can be made more uniform by the application of dye. However, we frown on the practice and so we’ve not used any. My photos are disappointing when compared to the actual specimen and so you will be even MORE delighted when you hold it in your hand. Citipatis are more than twice as massive as Oviraptors, and so are their eggs – which are rarer than Oviraptor eggs. This particular specimen has not been x-rayed and so it may contain undetected embryonic bones.

EGG DIMENSIONS: 6.5 inches long
WEIGHT: 2 net / 4.25 pounds shipping
AUCTION VALUE: $600 - $1,000
RANKING: This is a AFFORDABLE grade specimen when compared to my other oviraptor eggs and judged by these eight characteristics: shape, size, shell coverage, damage (if any), repairs (if any), shell texture, pleasingness to the eye, and whether it has been lab prepared. Using that ranking criteria, I then use one of the following descriptors in my auction title:

AFFORDABLE -- Collector grade, 25% of my specimens, estimated auction price: $200 ~ $300 per egg
CHOICE -- Best value grade (lower tier), 40% of my specimens, estimated auction price: $300 ~ $400 per egg
CHOICE+ -- Best value grade (upper tier), 33% of my specimens, estimated auction price: $400 ~ $600 per egg
PREMIUM -- Advanced collector grade, 1.5% of my specimens, estimated auction price: $600 ~ $900 per egg
MUSEUM -- Very best grade, 0.5% of my specimens, estimated auction price: $900 ~ $1800 per egg

Explanation of ranking criteria:

1. Shape: the degree of distortion from the original capsule shape, however all fossil eggs are distorted to some degree due to the compression of covering rock for millions of years
   
2. Size: most Oviraptoid eggs are 5.5 ~ 6.5 inches in length; eggs that are larger than that are more valuable because they are much less common
   
3. Shell coverage: degree of visible shell present vs. bald spots
   
4. Damage: degree to which geological forces have altered the original appearance of the egg; also includes extraction damage
   
5. Repairs: nearly all larger and rarer fossils have been repaired; this does not detract from value if they are done well
   
6. Shell texture: the degree of desirable “ridge & pebble” texture (called ornamentation) still present; this can be lost if the egg is improperly prepared
   
7. Pleasingness to the eye: a subjective criteria that gauges the overall showiness of the specimen
   
8. Lab preparation: about half the eggs that I offer will be laboratory prepared (for a minimum of four hours) using the finest tools, the gentlest abrasives, and the latest museum-advocated techniques. Due to the labor and tooling expense, prepared eggs cost at least $100 more than a comparable none-prepared specimen. A prepared egg will have a naturally occurring charcoal gray color which in unprepared eggs is hidden by light-gray calcite and/or reddish sandstone matrix.

The largest Citipati were emu-sized animals and, at about 3 meters (9 ft) long, were the largest oviraptorids until Gigantoraptor was described in June 2007. Like other oviraptorids, Citipati had an unusually long neck and shortened tail, compared to most other theropods. Its skull was unusually short and highly pneumatized (riddled with openings in the bone structure), ending in a stout, toothless beak. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Citipati was its tall crest, superficially similar to that of a modern cassowary. The crest was relatively low in the type species, C. osmolskae, and taller, with a pointed tip, in a referred specimen which has not yet been assigned a specific name (provisionally labeled C. sp.).

Since the type skull of Oviraptor is so poorly preserved and crushed, another oviraptorid specimen (IGN or GIN 100/42) had become the quintessential depiction of that dinosaur, even appearing in scientific papers with the label Oviraptor philoceratops. However, this distinctive-looking, tall-crested species has more features of the skull in common with Citipati than it does with Oviraptor and it may represent a second species of Citipati or possibly an entirely new genus, pending further study. Additionally, the nesting oviraptorid specimens had gained widespread attention before they were actually referred to Citipati. While usually labeled simply "oviraptorids", they have on occasion been confused with Oviraptor itself. The fact that the first Oviraptor specimen was found on a nest as well confused the matter further. As it stands, most popular illustrations of Oviraptor actually depict Citipati and the present material available for Oviraptor itself is too fragmentary to be reliably reconstructed.

The name Citipati is formed from the Sanskrit words citi, meaning 'funeral pyre' and pati meaning 'lord'. In Tibetan Buddhist folklore, the citipati were two monks who were beheaded by a thief, while deep in a meditative trance. The citipati are often depicted as a pair of dancing skeletons surrounded by flame, hence the application of the name to the beautifully preserved oviraptorid skeletons. The type species of Citipati, C. osmolskae, was named by Clark et al., in honor of Halszka Osmólska, a noted paleontologist whose work has dealt extensively with oviraptorids and other Mongolian theropods

At least four Citipati specimens have been found in brooding positions, the most famous of which, a large specimen nicknamed "Big Mamma", was first announced (but not named) in 1995, described in 1999, and referred to the genus Citipati in 2001. All of the nesting specimens are situated on top of egg clutches, with their limbs spread symmetrically on each side of the nest, front limbs covering the nest perimeter. This brooding posture is found today only in birds and supports a behavioral link between birds and theropod dinosaurs. The nesting position of Citipati also supports the hypothesis that it and other oviraptorids had feathered forelimbs. With the 'arms' spread along the periphery of the nest, a majority of eggs would not be covered by the animal's body unless an extensive coat of feathers was present.

Although fossilized dinosaur eggs are rare, Citipati eggs and oviraptorid eggs in general, are relatively well known. Along with the four known nesting specimens, dozens of isolated oviraptorid nests have been uncovered in the Gobi Desert. Citipati eggs are shaped like elongated ovals (elongatoolithid) and resemble the eggs of ratites in texture and shell structure. In the nest, Citipati eggs are typically arranged in concentric circles of up to three layers, and a complete clutch may have consisted of as many of 22 eggs. The eggs of Citipati are the largest known definitive oviraptorid eggs, at 18 cm. In contrast, eggs associated with Oviraptor are only up to 14 cm long.

Ironically, it was the association with eggs that gave oviraptorids their name (which means 'egg thieves'). The first oviraptorid eggs (of the genus Oviraptor) were found in close proximity to the remains of the ceratopsian dinosaur Protoceratops and it was assumed that the oviraptorids were preying upon the eggs of the ceratopsians. It was not until 1993, when a Citipati embryo was discovered inside one of the supposed Protoceratops eggs, that the error was corrected. Norell et al., who recognized the embryo as oviraptorid, assigned it to the genus Citipati in 2001, based on the vertical orientation of the premaxilla (a bone structure at the tip of the jaw), a feature found only in Citipati. The egg containing the embryo was smaller than most known Citipati eggs at only 12 cm, though it was partially eroded and broken into three pieces, making an accurate estimate of its original size difficult. The embryo-bearing egg was otherwise identical to other oviraptorid eggs in shell structure and was found in an isolated nest, again arranged in a circular pattern.

SCIENTIFIC PAPERS: For those with a deeper interest in this topic, I have collected scientific papers by some of today’s leading researchers in this genre. Click here to see the titles and download the scholarly papers for free to your computer.

This egg type is about a hundredth as common as Hadrosaur eggs, partly because ecosystems can support fewer predators like Oviraptors versus the more numerous herbivore Hadrosaurs, and partly because of different nest construction between the two that favored better preservation of Hadrosaur eggs. Yet on a per-egg basis, oviraptor eggs cost only about twice as much as a Hadrosaur egg because a much smaller number of people buy a second type of egg after buying the lowest cost Hadrosaur egg first. Thus, fewer bidders translate into much lower prices for this egg type than their rarity would suggest.

The following photo shows the top layer a complete Oviraptor nest (source: "The Fossils of China" ISBN 7-03-009288-0).

WHO AM I? My name is Lowell Carhart and I am amongst the largest, oldest, and most reputable US seller of fossils on eBay. My customers include resellers (55%), private collectors (25%), teachers (17%), universities (2%), and museums (1%), which includes the London Museum of Natural History. I’ve had over 15,000 successful transactions on eBay and not a single negative feedback. No other seller in this category can come close to making that claim. I want your business and will endeavor to exceed your expectations. Click here to view my wildly enthusiastic eBay feedback and then bid with total confidence!

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