Velociraptor

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Velociraptor

Fossil range: Late Cretaceous
Velociraptor size compared to a human.
Velociraptor size compared to a human.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Superorder: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Infraorder: Coelurosauria
Family: Dromaeosauridae
Subfamily: Velociraptorinae
Barsbold, 1983
Genus: Velociraptor
Species: V. mongoliensis
Binomial name
Velociraptor mongoliensis
Osborn, 1924

Velociraptor (sometimes called "raptor" for short) was a predatory dinosaur in the Late Cretaceous Period. It was about 1.8 meters long and 0.62 meters tall at the hip, which is about the size of a turkey. It had a sickle-shaped claw on its foot which measured almost 7 centimeters long. Some scientists think that Velociraptor was warm blooded and had feathers, although they have not yet proved that they had feathers.

Fossils of Velociraptors were first found in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia in 1922. In 1988, scientists from China found Velociraptor skeletons in northern China. One of the most famous Velociraptors discovered in 1971 was found attacking a Protoceratops in a fossil from Mongolia. Films such as Jurassic Park and several of the The Land Before Time films helped make Velociraptor popular.