Velociraptor

Velociraptor is a genus of the dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that might have lived 75 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. Two species have been recognized but there is speculation that there were more than two species of the velociraptor dinosaur in the past. V. mongoliensis is the type species, and fossils of this species have been discovered in Mongolia. In 2008, a new species, V. osmolskae, was identified with skull material discovered in Inner Mongolia, China.

Velociraptor size was smaller than other dromaeosaurids such as Deinonychus and Achillobator, yet it had many of the same physical traits. It was a bipedal, feathery carnivore with a long tail and an enormous sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which was employed to attack and dismember victims. Velociraptor differs from other dromaeosaurids by having a long, low head with an upturned nose.

Velociraptor, also commonly known as the raptor, is one of the genera of the dinosaurs that the general public is familiar with. It is because of its role in several Jurassic Park movies. When considered in real life the velociraptor would be close to the size of a full-grown turkey which is approximately 2 meters tall and could weigh upto 80 kilograms. Velociraptor is well-known among paleontologists today, with more than a dozen fossil skeletons identified, the most of any dromaeosaurid. A Velociraptor locked in a fight with a Protoceratops is preserved in one of the most renowned specimens.

In this article, we are going to discuss the velociraptor dinosaur, its size, height, eating habits, and also a few of the most important velociraptor facts and the most frequently asked questions will also be answered. 

Velociraptor Information

• During the end of the Cretaceous period, the Velociraptor roamed around the Earth about 85 million years ago. In the year 1924, the then president of the American Museum of Natural History, Henry Fairfield Osborn named the fossil Velociraptor. He named the dinosaur Velociraptor as it is derived from the Latin words ”Velox” which means swift and “raptor ” which means robber or plunderer. The Velociraptor is named based on its apt description of its agility and carnivorous diet. 

• Osborn had named the dinosaur Ovoraptor djadochtari in a popular newspaper piece earlier that year, but the species wasn't fully described in the piece, and "Ovoraptor" hadn't been cited in a scientific publication, thus Velociraptor became the recognized name.

• V. mongoliensis and V. osmolskae are the two Velociraptor species, the latter of which was first discovered in 2008. Velociraptor is believed to have belonged to the Dromaeosauridae family, which were considered small to medium-sized bird-like dinosaurs. The velociraptor size was approximately close to the size of a fully grown turkey and is considered smaller than other animals in the family of other dinosaurs, including Deinonychus and Achillobator. An adult velociraptor height can be upto 2 meters long and its weight was around 15 kilograms.

• While in many movies and famous Hollywood franchises such as Jurassic World, Velociraptor is portrayed are huge dinosaurs which were feared by many because of their fierce nature but many paleontologists have discovered that Velociraptors had feathers on their bodies and but despite having feathers, the Velociraptor was unable to fly.

History of All the Discoveries 

• On 11 August 1923, Peter Kaisen discovered the first Velociraptor fossil known to science during an American Museum of Natural History trip to the Outer Mongolian Gobi Desert; this fossil was a smashed but entire skull coupled with one of the raptorial second toe-claws.

• The skull and claw, which were presumed came from the hand, were chosen as the type specimen of his new genus, Velociraptor, by museum president Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1924. The name comes from the Latin words Velox ('quick') and raptor ('robber' or 'plunderer') and relates to the animal's speed and carnivorous appetite.

• The type species, V. mongoliensis, was named after the country of origin by Henry Fairfield Osborn. Osborn had already referenced the species in a popular news story under the name "Oviraptor djadochtari" earlier that year (not to be confused with the similarly named Oviraptor). Because the name "Oviraptor" was never published in a scientific publication or accompanied by a formal description, it is regarded as a nomen nudum ('naked name,') and Velociraptor took priority.

• During the Cold War, while North American teams were barred from communist Mongolia, expeditions led by Soviet and Polish scientists, in partnership with Mongolian colleagues, retrieved numerous additional Velociraptor fossils. The most renowned is a piece from the renowned "Fighting Dinosaurs" specimen, which was found in 1971 by a Polish-Mongolian team.

• This fossil depicts a Velociraptor fighting a Protoceratops. Mongolians regard this specimen as a national treasure, and it was lent to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City for a temporary exhibition in 2000.

• A combined Chinese-Canadian team unearthed Velociraptor fossils in northern China between 1988 and 1990. In 1990, American scientists returned to Mongolia, and a combined Mongolian-American expedition led by the American Museum of Natural History and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences discovered many well-preserved bones in the Gobi Desert.

Velociraptor Eating Habit 

• Velociraptor was considered to be a carnivorous animal that hunted and scavenged for food. It is believed that it spent the vast majority of its time eating small animals which included reptiles, amphibians, insects, small dinosaurs, and mammals. 

• Few fossils are preserved in the sand deposits after being buried from collapsing sand dunes or sudden sandstorms. These fossils are of a pair of Velociraptors that showed that they hunted for food but a combined attack on other large dinosaurs was not common. 

• In 2008, scientists discovered Protoceratops fossils with raptor-like markings and grooves, as well as two teeth that might have belonged to Velociraptor or another dromaeosaurid. This showed that the velociraptor also hunted down Protoceratops.

• In 2012, a few paleontologists also found few fossils that gave proper evidence that velociraptors also sometimes ate pterosaurs. The team of paleontologists came to this conclusion after finding large pterosaur bones in the gut of a Velociraptor.

Velociraptor Dinosaur Description 

• Velociraptor was considered to be a mid-sized dromaeosaurid, with the adult velociraptor height being around 2.07 meters and weight upto 16 kilograms.

• The skull was up-curved, concave on the upper surface and convex on the bottom, and measured up to 25 cm (10 in) in length. On each side of the jaws, there were 26–28 widely spaced teeth, each more heavily serrated on the rear edge than the front.

• Velociraptor, like all other dromaeosaurids, possessed a big manus or hand with three sharply curved claws comparable in design and flexibility to contemporary bird wing bones. The second of the three digits was the longest, while the first was the shortest. The carpal (wrist) bone structure inhibited pronation of the wrist, forcing the 'hands' to be held with the palmar surface facing inward (medially) rather than downward.

• The first digit of the foot was a tiny dewclaw, like in other theropods. Unlike other theropods, which possessed three digits that made contact with the ground, dromaeosaurids like Velociraptor walked on just their third and fourth digits. The most renowned finger of Velociraptor was extensively modified and held retracted off the ground. It had a huge, sickle-shaped claw, which was typical of dromaeosaurid and troodontid dinosaurs. These enlarged claws of the Velociraptor could grow up to 7 centimeters and most likely is considered to be a predatory device that the Velociraptors used to tear or restrain struggling prey. 

• Velociraptor tails possessed lengthy bony projections (prezygapophyses) on the vertebral top surfaces, as well as ossified tendons beneath. The prezygapophyses began on the tenth (caudal) vertebra of the tail and expanded forward to support four to ten more vertebrae, depending on the location in the tail. These were formerly supposed to completely stiffen the tail, causing it to behave as a single rod-like unit. However, at least one specimen shows a series of entire tail vertebrae curled horizontally into an S-shape, indicating that there was far greater horizontal flexibility than previously supposed.

• Paleontologists discovered quill knobs on a well-preserved Velociraptor mongoliensis forearm in Mongolia in 2007, proving the existence of feathers in this species.

• Below an image showing reimagining, the Velociraptor is given. 

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 Classification of the Velociraptor 

• Velociraptor is a member of the Velociraptorinae subfamily of the Dromaeosauridae family. Velociraptorinae is described in phylogenetic taxonomy as "all dromaeosaurs more closely related to Velociraptor than to Dromaeosaurus." The categorization of dromaeosaurids is quite varied. Originally, the subfamily Velociraptorinae was created just to house Velociraptor.

• Other genera, primarily Deinonychus and Saurornitholestes, have been studied in the past. According to cladistic research, Velociraptor, Deinonychus, Tsaagan, and closely related Saurornitholestes form a monophyletic Velociraptorinae.

• Other dromaeosaurid species, like Deinonychus antirrhopus and Saurornitholestes langstoni, were previously categorized as Velociraptor. Because Velociraptor was the first to be identified, these species are now known as Velociraptor antirrhopus and V. langstoni, however, the only Velociraptor species recognized today are V. mongoliensis and V. osmolskae.

• Velociraptor was put in the Megalosauridae family when it was initially described in 1924, as were other carnivores at the time (Megalosauridae, like Megalosaurus, functioned as a type of 'wastebin' taxon, with numerous unrelated species lumped there). Velociraptor was eventually classified as a dromaeosaurid as dinosaur finds increased. At least one author has referred to all dromaeosaurids as belonging to the family Archaeopterygidae.

Predatory Behavior of Velociraptor 

• Despite the shortage of evidence for Velociraptor predating in groups, there is strong evidence that Velociraptor did hunt on Protoceratops, a horned dinosaur related to Triceratops. The little ceratopsian coexisted with other tiny ceratopsians such as Udanoceratops, Bagaceratops, Yamaceratops, Helioceratops, and Asiaceratops throughout Asia.

• The conclusion of the predator/prey connection between Velociraptor and Protoceratops stems from a 1971 finding in which scientists discovered a very well-preserved fossil of a Velociraptor fighting a Protoceratops. The fossil depicted a Protoceratops biting the arm of a Velociraptor, and the Velociraptor piercing the Protoceratops' neck with its sickle-claw. In the end, though, both dinosaurs died when a sandstorm killed them and their remains were left on the earth.