Velociraptor
carnivoreLate Cretaceous (75-71 Ma)
PALAEONTOLOGICAL RECORD
Velociraptor is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago (Mya). Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis, named and described in 1924. Fossils of this species have been discovered in the Djadochta Formation, Mongolia. A second species, V. osmolskae, was named in 2008 for skull material from the Bayan Mandahu Formation, China. A possible record is known from the Nemegt Formation.
DISCOVERY
First discovered in 1923 by Peter Kaisen in the Gobi Desert.
DIETARY PROFILE
Small opportunistic pack hunter; hunted small to medium dinosaurs.
NOTABLE PALAEONTOLOGY FACTS
- Real Velociraptors were fully feathered and roughly the size of a modern turkey.
- Fossilized encounters show they actively engaged with Protoceratops in lethal combat.
HOLLYWOOD INACCURACIES
- Real velociraptors were the size of a turkey.
- They were entirely covered in feathers.
- Film anatomy resembles Deinonychus or Utahraptor.
SCIENTIFIC DEPICTION
PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS
ESTIMATED LENGTH
Fossil Record2 meters
InGen Clone4 meters
ESTIMATED WEIGHT
Fossil Record15 kg
InGen Clone150 kg
Accuracy Rating
EXAGGERATED