Prehistoric life
Velociraptors were made famous in the film 'Jurassic Park', though they were a little less impressive in reality, standing not much taller than domestic turkeys. A famous fossil has one locked in battle with a Protoceratops. The predatory Velociraptor had pinned down its plant-eating victim, but both appear to have been overcome, perhaps by a sudden sandstorm. Fossils also show that Velociraptor had large feathers on its forelimbs, perhaps used for display.
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Ruthless raptors
Velociraptors work together to hunt down a bulky Proceratops.
Velociraptors work together to hunt down a bulky Proceratops.
Robot raptor
Mechanical models question Velociraptor's power to disembowel.
Bill Oddie and Dr Phil Manning of the Museum of Manchester test the functions and abilities of a working mechanical model of a Velociraptor's leg and claw. The model has been built by special effects experts Dave Payne and John Pennicott. The claw proves able to cut skin, but not to penetrate muscle. Thus Velociraptor's reputation for disembowelling prey is disproved.
Jaws of death
CGI fleshes out the bones of a bird relative, the vicious Velociraptor.
Dr Phil Manning of the Museum of Manchester talks to Bill Oddie about the savage teeth of the Velociraptor.
Feathered dinosaurs
Bill Oddie examines the bird-like features of small, yet fierce, Velociraptors.
Bill Oddie examines the bird-like features of small, yet fierce, Velociraptors.
Immortal combat
The story of a battle frozen in time between Protoceratops and Velociraptor.
A unique fossil found in the Mongolian Desert showed a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops locked together in battle. Dr Dave Unwin describes the events that led up to the fossil being formed and deduces information about the two species and how they fought.
A comparison of Velociraptor's size in relation to humans.
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Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
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Cretaceous periodVelociraptor (pron.: /vɨˈlɒsɨræptər/; meaning 'swift seizer') is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis; fossils of this species have been discovered in Mongolia. A second species, V. osmolskae, was named in 2008 for skull material from Inner Mongolia, China.
Smaller than other dromaeosaurids like Deinonychus and Achillobator, Velociraptor nevertheless shared many of the same anatomical features. It was a bipedal, feathered carnivore with a long tail and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to kill its prey. Velociraptor can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout.
Velociraptor (commonly shortened to 'raptor') is one of the dinosaur genera most familiar to the general public due to its prominent role in the Jurassic Park motion picture series. In the films it was shown with anatomical inaccuracies, including being much larger than it was in reality and without feathers. It is also well known to paleontologists, with over a dozen described fossil skeletons—the most of any dromaeosaurid. One particularly famous specimen preserves a Velociraptor locked in combat with a Protoceratops.
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Deadly dinosaurs
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Carnivorous
Moulting
Egg layer
Predator
Adapted to running
Scavenger