Changes: Velociraptor

Revision as of 17:49, 28 November 2010

Velociraptor is one of the most well-known dinosaurs. It lived in Mongolia, Asia, 75 million years ago.

Fact File

Length: 2 metres

Height: 0.5 metres (at the hip)

Weight: 25 kg

Diet: Carnivorous

Prey

Velociraptor hunted in packs to bring down larger prey, but it didn't pack-hunt as much as raptors like Deinonychus. They could have attacked a Protoceratops alone or in a pair. Like all raptors, it had a sickle claw on the second toe of each foot, controlled by powerful muscles, to rip open the prey animal's stomach. It also had jaws full of needle-sharp teeth 26-28 per side, and its

Velociraptor1 — Velociraptor hunting Protoceratops

hand claws were also very dangerous.

Fossil

One of the most amazing fossils ever uncovered is of aProtoceratops and a Velociraptor, locked in a death struggle. The Protoceratops is biting the Velociraptor's hand with its beak, and the Velociraptor is slashing at the Protoceratops' neck with its sickle claw, probably trying to pierce vital organs, eg the windpipe. They were presumably fighting in the desert, and them both killed rapidly by a sandstorm or something of the sort. It is unlikely to be a flash flood, if this was the case then the bones would probably have been washed apart.

Warm-Blooded?

Velociraptor was probably warm-blooded to some degree, as it would need a lot of energy to hunt. Animals today that are warm-blooded usually have feathers or fur, and we believe Velociraptor was also feathered. This is another reason why Velociraptor may be warm-blooded.

Also, Velociraptor fossils have been found with quill knobs on the arms, suggesting feathers were present.

Popular Culture

It all started with Jurassic Park, when Velociraptors were depicted twice their true size, featherless, and with a shorter snout. Since then Velociraptor has appeared in almost all dinosaur-related media, usually shown as how Jurassic Park did. Some, however, do portray the creature correctly.