Velociraptor: The Intelligent Carnivore

The velociraptor is a light, fast predator with sharp, sickle-shaped claws. It is one of the smartest dinosaurs due to its large brain size relative to its body.

Velociraptos are one of the most well-known and famous dinosaurs, being featured in Jurassic Park and other media.

There are many misconceptions around Velociraptors, which we will address further on…

Velociraptor Quick Facts

The Velociraptor ran on two legs and had two claws that it used for attacking.

It was actually a feathered dinosaur, contrary to popular media depictions of entirely scaled reptiles with no feathers.

Dino Field Journal

Velociraptor Rex Quick Facts

Meaning Swift Plunderer

Length About 3 feet without tail

Height About 3 feet

Diet Carnivore

Time Period Late Cretaceous

Lived 84-71 million years ago

Fossils Found In Mongolia

Name: Velociraptor
Meaning: swift plunderer/robber
Pronunciation: ve-LOSS-i-RAP-tor
Meaning: Rapid thief
Time-Period: Late Cretaceous period, 84-71 MYA
Group: Theropoda
Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chodata
Class: Reptilia
Family: Dromaeosauridae
Subfamily: Velociraptorinae
Genus: Velociraptor
Species: Velociraptor mongoliensis

Diet: Carnivore
Fossil Locations: Mongolia, China, 1924

How Was It Discovered?

The first Velociraptor fossil was found in 1923 in what is now Mongolia in the Gobi Desert by Peter Kaisen. An American group on an expedition for the Museum of Natural History found the crushed skull and claws of a Velociraptor.

A new fossil found in 2007, in which the imprint of feathers was preserved, proves that Velociraptor had feathers.

Where Did Velociraptor Live?

Velociraptors lived in Central and East Asia, where the only fossils have been found. Specifically, these fossils were found in Mongolia and China.

Velociraptors largely lived in what is the modern-day Gobi Desert; the habitat was essentially the same sort of desert that it is today.

What Did Velociraptor Eat?

Velociraptor, being much smaller and less fierce than those depicted in cultural media, often ate smaller prey such as reptiles, amphibians, and other small, slow dinosaurs.

This dinosaur has an exclusively carnivorous diet. It is thought to be mostly a scavenger, eating from the bones and carcasses left from larger dinosaurs.

However, there has been proof of Velociraptors being a predator of the Protoceratops, which was like a small, plated pig. It is also known that they ate scraps of a flying azhdarchid pterosaur.

Velociraptor Skull, Teeth, and Claws

With skulls around 8-10 inches with mouths full of sharp, cerated teeth, velociraptors would tear apart smaller prey and carrion.

Known for their sickle-shaped claws on each of their feet. They walked only on two toes, holding a third sharp claw off the ground to quickly pin prey.

Velociraptor had:

26-30 small teeth
A sickle-shaped claw on each foot

So how big were these raptors in reality?

How Big Was It?

Contrary to depictions in media such as Jurassic Park, Velociraptor would have been around the size of a turkey. Only around 3 feet (1 meter) long, not including the tail.

Despite being so small, these raptors could weigh in around 30-40 pounds, much more than the average turkey.

The Dinosaur Family Tree

Velociraptor belonged to the theropod group, the same as the famous Tyrannosaurus rex. Being a carnivore that walked on its two back legs.

Velociraptor is a part of the Saurischia order, which includes lizard-hipped dinosaurs. Despite the name, these dinosaurs are closer to birds because of their feathers and other features than most dinosaurs.

Fun Facts For Kids

Feathered Dinosaurs: Velociraptor actually has knobs on its forearms that are the same as the ones found in the wingbones of birds, where deaths connect. This is what proves that Velociraptors were feathered.
Misconception on Size: Modern depictions of velociraptors, such as in the Jurssic park movies, depict velociraptors as even bigger than humans. In reality, velociraptors weren’t much larger than turkeys. Although there were carnivores as large as and bigger than humans that would have been similar to those in Jurassic Park, velociraptors were not one of them.
Hook Claws: Velociraptors have curved. sickle-shaped claws, which research suggests were used as hooks to prevent prey from escaping.
Brooding Behavior: Velociraptors are thought to be more closely related to modern birds than the Oviraptor was. Which means it is likely that the Velociraptor displayed bird-like behavior, such as brooding over its eggs

Famous Velociraptor Skeletons

One of the most famous Velociraptor specimens is a part of the “Fighting Dinosaurs” fossil. This contains a complete Velociraptor skeleton that was found locked in battle with a Protoceratops found in the Gobi Desert in 1971. This fossil is one of the national treasures of Mongolia.

FAQ

In Jurassic Park, the Velociraptors are shown tapping their claws to help locate prey. However, there’s no scientific proof of this sort of behavior.

In fact, most intact third claws on their foot were kept off the ground when walking, and were very sharp, indicating it is unlikely that they tapped them on the ground and risked dulling them.

Yes, Velociraptors would have looked like a disturbing feathered bird of prey. Not only did they have feathers on their arms, but they would also have had feathers on their whole body and tail. There have been close relatives such as the Microraptor and the Zhenyuanlong, which were both found with preserved feathers

No, although they had feathered arms, they are flightless. Its arms wouldn’t have had the wingspan to fly or even glide. While it did have the same fused collar bone seen in birds that can fly, it lacked the asymmetrical feathers needed for flight.

Rather than flying, it is suspected that the feathers were used for attracting mates, similar to a peacock. It’s also possible that the feathers were used for warmth for its own body as well as for covering eggs and brooding.