NAME

Meaning - Velociraptor means “speedy thief”
Pronounced vuh-LOSS-ih-RAP-tor
Named By - Henry F. Osborn
When Named -1924
DIET

Carnivore (meat-eater)
SIZE

Length - 5 to 6 feet (1.5-2 m) long
Height - 3 ft (1 m) tall at the hips
Weight - 15 to 33 pounds (7 to 15 kg)
WHEN IT LIVED

Late Cretaceous period, about 85 - 80 million years ago
WHERE IT LIVED

Fossils have been found in Mongolia, Russia, and China [Asia].
FOSSILS

What has been Found - About a dozen Velociraptor fossils have been found, including one who died in a battle to the death with Protoceratops and two hatchling Velociraptor skulls that were found near an oviraptorid nest in Mongolia (the eggs may have been a meal).
Who Found the Fossils - Velociraptor was first found by H. F. Osborn.
Where - The first Velociraptor was found in Mongolia in 1924.
CLASSIFICATION
- Kingdom Animalia (animals)
  • Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
  • Class Archosauria (diapsids with socket-set teeth, etc.)
  • Order Saurischia - lizard-hipped dinosaurs
  • Suborder Theropoda - bipedal carnivores
  • Tetanuran - advanced theropods
  • Infraorder Coelurosauria - lightly-built fast-running predators with hollow bones and large brains
  • Superfamily Deinonychosauria - with a sickle-shaped claw on each foot
  • Family Velociraptorinae (Deinonychus, Saurornitholestes, Velociraptor)
  • Genus Velociraptor
  • Species V. mongoliensis (type species named by Osborn, 1924)
INTERESTING FACTS

Velociraptor had a sharp, deadly, sickle-shaped, retractible, 3.5 inch (9 cm) long claw on each foot (located on each second toe). Velociraptor may have been able to run up to roughly 40 mph (60 km/hr) for short bursts. This predator may have hunted in packs.
LINKS

A detailed page on Velociraptor.