Velociraptor mongoliensis - Carnivore Dinosaurs
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(vee-loss-ih-rap-tore)
"swift robber"
Describer Osborn, 1924
Also Known As --
Type of Species mongoliensis
Order Saurischia
SubOrder Theropoda
InfraOrder Deinonychosauria
Micro-Order --
SuperFamily --
Family Dromaeosauridae
SubFamily --
Size 6.5 feet (2 meters) long
Period Late Cretaceous, 80 million years ago
Fossilsite Mongolia, China
Diet Carnivore
Velociraptor lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 80 million years ago in what is now Mongolia, China. Velociraptor was well armed with a variety of hunting weapons. It had sharp, serrated teeth and a sickle shaped claw on the second toe of each foot. When Velociraptor walked or ran, it held its lethal claws off the ground, to prevent them from losing its sharpness. During an attack its claw would come forward, and were used to slash at soft parts of its victims. Velociraptor had a large brain which suggest the animal to be an intelligent predator. It had a long tail that was stiffened by rod like tendons. Skeletal remains of Velociraptor were found battling the small ceratopsian dinosaur Protoceratops. It is believed that Velociraptor may have hunted in packs.
Velociraptor mongoliensis Paleo Gallery
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