EasyVelociraptor
Velociraptor mongoliensis
veh-LOSS-ih-rap-tor· “swift thief”
🕰️ Cretaceous🥩 carnivore🦴 Dromaeosauridae
2 m
Length
0.5 m
Height
15 kg
Weight
A fast, feathered hunter about the size of a turkey — much smaller than in the movies. It used a large sickle-shaped claw on each foot to pin down its prey in the deserts of Mongolia.
When
Late Cretaceous, ~75–71 million years ago
Found in
Mongolia
Discovered
Peter Kaisen, 1923
Did you know?
- A famous fossil preserves one locked in combat with a Protoceratops.
- Quill knobs on its arm bones prove it had feathers.
- Its sickle claw could grow to about 6.5 cm long.
Artwork: TotalDino, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.