Velociraptor Facts

The Velociraptor was a small carnivorous dinosaur which lived in the late Cretatious period, made famous in the Jurrasic Park film franchise this small hunter is armed with a fearsome claw which was used for stabbing its prey and hindering its escape

In real life these dinosaurs were much smaller than the ones depicted in the films being about the size of a medium sized dog

Velociraptor, meaning 'swift thief' in Latin, is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period.

Velociraptor fossils were first discovered in Mongolia in 1923 by a palaeontologist named Peter Kaisen. Since then, several skeletons of Velociraptors have been unearthed in Mongolia, China, and Russia. The landscape at that time was dominated by desert-like conditions with seasonal rivers and streams. The temperature was warm and dry, with little rainfall. Velociraptors would have coexisted with other dinosaurs such as Protoceratops and Oviraptors.

Velociraptors belong to a family of dinosaurs called Dromaeosauridae, these also include other famous theropods such as Deinonychus and Utahraptor. Dromaeosaurids are commonly referred to as raptors because of their agile and predatory nature. They are characterized by their bird-like features, such as feathers and a lightly built skull. Velociraptors also had an iconic large sickle-shaped claw on their hind feet which they would have used for stabbing their prey and then using it to cling on while they wore their prey down.

Velociraptors usually preyed on small dinosaurs but they were also capable of hunting larger prey, such as long-necked sauropods which they may have attacked in groups.

In terms of size, Velociraptor was a small to medium-sized theropod, measuring approximately 1.8 meters in length and 0.5 meters tall at the hip. It weighed around 15 kilograms. Velociraptors had a long thin tail, which helped them to balance while running and turning at high speeds. Its legs were long and powerful, enabling it to run at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.

Velociraptors had sleek, lightweight bodies covered in feathers. These feathers would have provided insulation and protection from the elements. Recent discoveries have revealed that some species of Velociraptor had feathers on their forelimbs, which may have helped them to glide short distances or improve their ability to climb trees.

Another unique feature of the Velociraptor is its cranial anatomy. The skull of the Velociraptor was lightly built and highly flexible, with a large brain relative to its body size. The jaws were lined with serrated teeth, which would have been ideal for slicing through flesh and bone.

In addition to their physical attributes, Velociraptor was also known for their social behaviour. Fossils of Velociraptor have been found in groups, indicating that they may have hunted in packs. This is further supported by the discovery of Protoceratops fossils with injuries consistent with Velociraptor attacks.