Velociraptor is a small carnivorous dromeosaurid that lived in Late Cretaceous Asia. Velociraptor consists of its type species in Prehistoric Kingdom, V. mongoliensis.
It was added in Update 8.
In-Game[]
Description[]
Velociraptor has a very lightweight body, and unlike many others of the Dromaeosauridae family, it posses an upturned snout. It also shares many of the traits of the rest of the family, including feathers, large grabbing hands and sickle-shaped claws on its large toes.
In Prehistoric Kingdom, Velociraptor is depicted with a retractable feathery head crest similar to the modern roadrunner and some other birds. The crest will often unfurl and retract during certain animations and gives the small dromeosaur an expanded emotive repertoire.
The 3 skins have some subtle differences. "Mirage" is sexually dimorphic, has a scaly snout and has iridescent feathers similar to roadrunners and Microraptor; "Oasis" has a smooth scaleless snout with no iridescent feathering or sexual dimorphism, and "Dust Devil" has a scaly snout, no iridescent feathering and no dimorphism.
The in-game Velociraptor also has an extensive range of calls based on Australian Magpies, their chirps and whistles perhaps make them a contender for the title of most melodic park resident.
Management[]
To be announced.
In-Game Trivia[]
Nigel Marven
Blink and you'll miss it! Here comes the “speedy thief”, Velociraptor.
Nigel Marven
Many visitors are surprised when they first spot these handsome little devils. They arrive expecting a big, boxy, featherless raptor like in the movies and are always shocked to see how small, slender, and feathery these dinosaurs really are.
Nigel Marven
By far, the most popular feature of Velociraptor is its sickle-shaped killing claw. One of our interpreters loves to carry a replica with him to show to the children, it always seems to make a big impression!
Nigel Marven
It's easy to call Velociraptor a “cold-blooded killer”, but they aren’t cold-blooded. As an active predator covered in feathers, Velociraptor is able to regulate its own body temperature - the hallmark ability of “warm-blooded” animals.
Paleontology[]
Velociraptor mongoliensis was named in 1924 by paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn, and its name means "Swift Thief from Mongolia".
Paleoecology[]
Velociraptor is well known for having lived alongside Protoceratops, and one wonderfully preserved fossil showed a Velociraptor and Protoceratops engaged in battle. The Protoceratops had bitten down on the Velociraptor's arm and possibly trapped one of the raptor's legs underneath its crouched body, while the Velociraptor had thrust one of its large toe claws into the neck of the Protoceratops and grasped the ceratopsian's head with its free arm. Curiously, the Protoceratops shows signs of consumption as it was partially rasied off of the Velociraptor and is missing both of its arms, its left leg and the end of its tail. Whether this feeding was done by other Velociraptors that participated in the hunt and survived, or by opportunistic scavengers which happened upon the partially exposed Protoceratops later has been left up to debate.
Another specimen of Velociraptor has been found with the bone of an azhdarchid pterosaur in its stomach, showing that these animals were consuming wide varieties of prey. This find is the inspiration for the pterosaur hunting sequence in Prehistoric Planet Season 1.
Velociraptor, like other dromaeosaurs, would have used its well developed feathers to assist in insulation and movement. Its tail is largely stiff and would have assisted in balancing while running and leaping, while the winged arms of the animal would have been useful in steering and keeping balance while moving or performing restraint on top of struggling prey. The wings also likely would have been used while brooding their nests and while feeding to keep their food out of sight of other animals as seen in the mantling behavior of modern birds of prey.
While Velociraptor was certainly an agile and fleet footed hunter, it was not a long distance sprinter. It and other dromaeosaurs lack characteristics seen in other running adapted dinosaurs such as ornithomimids, troodontids and smaller tyrannosaurids, and were most likely reliant on sudden ambush hunting to capture their prey rather than long drawn out chases.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Velociraptor is the smallest animal in Prehistoric Kingdom that isn't placed within Mini-Exhibits.
- While researching words to use for the names of the Velociraptor skins Prehistoric Kingdom Artist Ida came across the Australian name for Dust Devils, "Willy-Willy", and proposed it as the name for one of the skins, but it sadly was shot down.
- Velociraptor was one of the dinosaurs available in the 2017 Prehistoric Kingdom demo.
- Velociraptor rose to fame with the 1990 novel Jurassic Park and its 1993 movie adaptation. However, their depiction is largely based on the larger North American dromaeosaur Deinonychus. This was likely due to author Michael Crichton referencing the work of Gregory S. Paul and his book Predatory Dinosaurs of The World during the writing of his novel, where Deinonychus antirrhopus is referred to as "Velociraptor antirrhopus". The striking nature of Velociraptor's name also likely contributed to the decision.
- Curiously, even though Jurassic Park's Velociraptors are based on the larger Deinonychus, the dig site kid's description of the film's dromaeosaurs as "six-foot turkeys" is still applicable to the smaller real life animal despite its shorter stature, as Velociraptor is 6 feet long in real life instead of 6 feet tall in the movie.
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