Velociraptor was a small, fast dinosaur that lived about 75 to 71 million years ago. It was a type of theropod, which means "beast foot," and belonged to a group called dromaeosaurs. Velociraptor was a smaller cousin of the more famous Deinonychus. Its fossils were first discovered in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in 1922.
Velociraptor had a special sickle-shaped claw on each foot. This claw was about 6.5 centimeters (2.5 inches) long. It also had smaller claws on its hands. Velociraptor was warm-blooded and had feathers.
This dinosaur was slender and lightly built. It was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. Velociraptor was about two meters (nearly seven feet) long. It stood about 0.62 meters (two feet) tall at its hip. This makes it bigger than a common chimpanzee.
According to the passage, about how long was a Velociraptor?
The word carnivore appears in the passage above, meaning "it ate meat." What is an animal called that only eats plants instead?
Velociraptor was actually about the size of a large dog, not a giant monster. Does that surprise you? Why do you think movies often make dinosaurs look bigger than they really were?
The first Velociraptor fossil was found on August 11, 1923. It was discovered by Peter Kaisen during an American Museum of Natural History trip. This happened at the Flaming Cliffs in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. The fossil was a crushed but complete skull, along with one of its special toe claws.
In 1924, the museum president, Henry Fairfield Osborn, named this new dinosaur Velociraptor. The name comes from Latin words: velox means "swift" and raptor means "robber" or "plunderer." This name describes the dinosaur's speed and its meat-eating diet.
Velociraptor was a skilled meat-eater. It actively hunted smaller animals. It used its speed, quickness, sharp senses, and special claws and teeth to catch and kill its prey. Its diet probably included many different animals that lived in its environment, including the plant-eating Protoceratops.
Why did scientists name this dinosaur "Velociraptor"?
The passage explains that velox means "swift" in Latin. What does "swift" mean?
Velociraptor's name means "swift robber." If you could name a dinosaur based on something it does, what would you name it and why?
In September 2007, researchers found small bumps on the forearm of a Velociraptor fossil from Mongolia. These bumps are called quill knobs. In birds, these knobs show where feathers attach to the bone. Finding them on Velociraptor means it also had feathers.
Scientists believe that the feathers on Velociraptor and its relatives had different uses. They were likely not for flying, as Velociraptor was too heavy. Instead, the feathers might have been used for display, like showing off to other dinosaurs. They might also have been used to cover their nests while brooding their eggs, keeping them warm.
Movies like Jurassic Park and some of The Land Before Time films made Velociraptor very famous. However, the raptors in Jurassic Park were much larger than real Velociraptors. They were actually the size of Deinonychus, a bigger relative. The movies also made them seem smarter than they probably were.
How do scientists think Velociraptor most likely used its feathers?
The passage explains that quill knobs are bumps that "show where feathers attach to the bone." Why would finding these on a fossil tell scientists the animal had feathers?
The movie Jurassic Park made Velociraptor look much bigger and smarter than the real animal. Have you ever seen a movie or show that got an animal fact wrong? What was it?