January, 2001
This page is for my son Kory, a lover of all things dinosaurian and especially the Velociraptor.
Velociraptor...the "speedy thief"...the (misnamed) fierce killers of Jurassic Park...This resource page deals with that ferociously clawed killer and attempts to provide a concise overview and reference to the Velociraptor.
The very name "Velociraptor" has a certain chilling quality about it, and the name truly fits.
Pronunciation: [veh-loss-ih-RAP-tor]
[reference] [time period table]
The Velociraptor was a bipedal (walked on 2 legs) carnivore (meat eater) around 2 meters (~6.5 feet) in length. Weight has been estimated to have been between 7kg and 15kg (~ 15.5 lbs - 34 lbs) [reference]. The Velociraptor was overall around the size of a Great Dane, but obviously quite a bit lighter.
Some think the Velociraptor was covered in feathers or fur. [reference] [drawing]
Fascinating mathematical based analysis of the "Hunting Strategy of Velociraptor" [reference]
That the Velociraptor's behavior was vicious attacks can not be doubted. In perhaps the only fossilized example of actual dinosaur behavior, a Velociraptor was found in a death struggle with a Protoceratops in 1971. Both skeletons were found intact. Somehow they were both buried while the Velociraptor was attacking. The odds of this occurring at the exact moment are probably astronomical. [more information, with fossil photo].
The skeleton of the Velociraptor [image source]:
image (c) 2001 Brendan Smith
All Rights Reserved
The full scientific name is Velociraptor mongoliensis, or "Mongolian speedy thief". The Velociraptor was first described by Henry F. Osborn in 1924 [reference] [all Osborn species]. The Velociraptor was originally dubbed Ovoraptor djadochtari by Osborn. [reference] (You will need to download the Asia file).
The classification of dinosaurs is a subject of active debate among paleontologists. Several alternative classification taxonomies exist for the Velociraptor [example of discussion]. The taxonomy I am presenting here seems to be the one most widely in use. I find these relationship trees fascinating. They can easily be studied for days on end. Relationship trees like these are developed via a branch of biology known as cladistics, which is one of the three major type of taxonomy [excellent Cladistics introduction] [overview of taxonomy].
The High Level View
Class Dinosauria, Order Saurischia, Suborder Theropoda, Infra order
Deinonychosauria (members of this Infra order are also called dromaeosaurs).
Complete Cladogram
Dinosauria --> Saurischia --> Theropoda --> Neotheropoda -->
Ceratosauria --> Tetanurae --> Neotetanurae -->Avetheropoda -->Coelurosauria
--> Maniraptoriformes --> Maniraptora --> Deinonychosauria -->
Dromaeosauridae --> Velociraptorinae --> Velociraptor mongoliensis
[reference]
The closest relatives of the Velociraptor were the Deinonychus (Deinonychus antirrophus) and the Saurornitholestes (Saurornitholestes langstoni). The Deinonychus, of course, was much closer to the dinosaur called "Velociraptor" in the movie Jurassic Park.
Another possible relative of the Velociraptor, Adasaurus mongoliensis or "Mongolian evil lizard", was found in the same region of Mongolia in 1977. The final cladistic classification of this species seems to be in flux. [species reference].
The bones of Velociraptor were originally discovered in Mongolia. The Earth of the last Cretaceous was recognizably similar to Earth as we know it today. The position of modern day Mongolia was roughly the same as Mongolia of the late Cretaceous [comparative maps]. But while the Shabarak Usu region of Mongolia is smack in the Gobi Desert today, the Shabarka Usu of the Campanian period undoubtedly featured a different climate!
Original fossil location of Velociraptor: Omnogov, Mongolia Locality: Shabarak Usu, Gobi Desert, southeastern Mongolia [Aerial Photo of Region] [detailed map of all Mongolia fossil locations]
A museum specimen of a Velociraptor claw found in this region of Mongolia:
Velociraptor mongoliensis
Running Claw
Early to Mid Campanian
Djadokhta Formation
Shabarak Usu, Mongolia
Length: 3 1/2 in. [claw picture reference]
Another Velociraptor fossil was excavated in Nei Mongol Zizhiqu, China.