This fossil of Zhenyuanlong, a dromaeosaur named in 2015, includes preserved imprints of feathers 'Palaeontologists built a mechanical model of the claw for BBC documentary The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs and they couldn't get it to disembowel things.'.

Image courtesy of the AMNH digital library.

'But I doubt it would have turned down the opportunity to feast on a dead animal.'. But it was smart like an average bird - a hawk or something like that.'Â. Velociraptor is now thought to have had a fine feather-like covering. Henry Fairfield Osborn, AMNH president, published a description of the finds in 1924, but he assumed the large, curved claw was from the hand. Scientists think Velociraptor may have behaved in a similar way. © Fred Wierum, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. In 2007, the discovery of quill knobs on a Velociraptor fossil proved that this dinosaur had long feathers attaching from its second finger and up its arms. 'There's a weird urban myth that Velociraptor has a higher encephalisation quotient than humans. Like birds, Velociraptor had hollow bones and tended nests of eggs. A palaeoart reconstruction of Velociraptor restraining a juvenile oviraptorosaur.  Scientists think Velociraptor restrained its prey in a similar way to eagles, using its talons. 'We have specimens of some oviraptorosaurs, which are relatively closely related to Velociraptor, which are preserved brooding over their eggs like a chicken,' elaborates David. All rights reserved. Feathers would stop dromaeosaurs losing energy and keep them warm.'.

'Carnivores tend to only attack something larger if it's sick, injured or old. Despite the common depiction of raptors as cooperative pack hunters, there's very little evidence for such behaviour. Recent research suggests that Velociraptor mongoliensis was a feathered dinosaur. David says, 'For Velociraptor-sized dinosaurs there are some trackways of multiple individuals moving in the same direction, but this could signify the dinosaurs flocking (moving in a crowd) or following. The famous fighting dinosaurs specimen from Mongolia shows Velociraptor and the early ceratopsian Protoceratops engaged in battle © Yuya Tamai, licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons, The specimen captures the two dinosaurs in the midst of a battle. Its agility was also helped by a long, stiff tail that helped steer at high speeds. Velociraptor probably mostly fed on relatively small mammals and reptiles that would have been easy to overpower and kill. © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, © 2015- Another special fossil has preserved part of a Velociraptor's meal inside its body: a broken bone belonging to a pterosaur. From left to right after the human silhouette: Microraptor, Velociraptor, Austroraptor, Dromaeosaurus, Utahraptor and Deinonychus. Velociraptor lived in the Late Cretaceous epoch of the Cretaceous Period. Velociraptor's narrow jaws and relatively light build support the idea it fed on quite small prey. If you're generating a lot of warmth, if you lose it you're wasting loads of energy. The idea was based on the discovery of the remains of multiple Deinonychus individuals around a single Tenontosaurus, a much larger herbivore. Velociraptor's feathered body would have kept it warm. Star of Jurassic World, established brawler and owner of a killer claw, Velociraptor has quite a reputation. Based on the large sclerotic ring (a bone inside the eye) of Velociraptor, some scientists have suggested that this dinosaur was nocturnal © Eduard Solà Vázquez, licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons (skull cropped from fossil skeleton image). They were able to determine the brain size thanks to a preserved skeleton ... the lineage that includes T Rex and Velociraptor of Jurassic Park fame - and birds.' Recent research suggests that Velociraptor mongoliensis was a feathered dinosaur. In fact, the movies' Velociraptor was actually modeled after Deinonychus, and sported a similar size and snout. The Velociraptor lacks feathers in this artist's impression, but the drawing effectively illustrates that Protoceratops was a daunting opponent © Chiappe LM (2003) A Field Trip to the Mesozoic. We call this measure the encephalisation quotient. While Velociraptor was quite smart for a dinosaur, it doesn't quite live up to its Jurassic Park portrayal as a cunning reptile that could outwit humans. You'd expect such an animal to be relatively large - able to drive other animals off a kill - and you'd expect it to have very powerful jaws for biting though bone.'. However, Velociraptor lacks the attributes of an animal that relies mostly on scavenging. There's no particular evidence of pack hunting. 'No evidence of toe-tapping behaviour has been found. Find out about dinosaur discoveries from around the world with Museum expert Prof Paul Barrett. These drawings were published by Henry Fairfield Osborn in his 1924 description of the new dinosaur. Well, I figure you’re asking this question because you’re curious of how Velociraptor actually was as a real animal, and not how Jurassic Park depicted it. 'You can get a rough idea of how suited an animal is to running by the relative length of its thigh and shin, says David. There are currently two known Velociraptor species. It was about the size of a Thanksgiving turkey. 'It wouldn't have been particularly nice to meet - I wouldn't want to meet a grounded eagle, let alone one that's used to being on the ground.'. 'I think it's quite useful to think of Velociraptor like a land eagle as they're very similar to eagles in many ways and it's reasonable to expect they would have behaved similarly as well. Since the discovery of the first Velociraptor fossil on 11 August 1923 in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, we've learnt a lot about this turkey-sized predator. David says, 'There's quite good evidence for dromaeosaurs having elevated metabolisms. © Smokeybjb, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

A famous fossil of Velociraptor shows it locked in combat with Protoceratops. Jurassic Park - which brought Velociraptor into the limelight - included an unsettling scene where the dinosaur tapped its claw on the ground to help it locate prey - in this case, children. 'It's one of the reasons I think it's a shame they don't put feathers on Velociraptor in the Jurassic Park movies,' he says.

Another suggestion is that Velociraptor used its feathered arms to cover their nests while brooding. Small animals have got quite short stride lengths and if it was snatching young Protoceratops they'd have been nowhere near that speed. David adds, 'Velociraptor's lithe build indicates it was agile, and its clawed hands and feet would have made effective tools for capturing prey. How intelligent was the velociraptor? Velociraptor's body was suited to hunting © Ben Townsend, licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The famous foot claw was held up in the air, which would have helped keep it sharp. Although slender, its jaws would have been capable of rapid, snapping bites, also allowing it to catch and subdue nimble prey. These telltale features are evidence of where ligaments attached flight feathers to bone and are considered proof that Velociraptor sported a fine feathery coat. Like birds, Velociraptor had hollow bones, tended nests of eggs, and probably behaved in similar ways. Is a mosquito trapped in amber really the way to bring dinosaurs back from the dead?Â. That's also seen in many birds of prey. David explains, 'Pretty much all predators scavenge sometimes, and vice versa. If so, it was probably desperate or inexperienced. As portrayed in the Jurassic Park movies,Velociraptor was recreated at twice its actual size and closely modelled on Deinonychus.Though this was seen as unscientific at the time, soon after the first film was released, a dinosaur of the same type, Utahraptor, was discovered, even larger than the virtual Velociraptors. Like lizards and crocodiles alive today, Velociraptor's teeth were replaced throughout its life, ensuring they stayed sharp. 'Some modern hawks hunt cooperatively and several modern reptiles, including komodo dragons, hunt in a manner called mobbing - whereby one will attack an animal and then others will opportunistically join in. Velociraptor was probably one of the more intelligent dinosaurs, because it had a large brain proportionate to its body size. When they caught up to prey, these predators likely brought them down quickly with a long, 3.5-inch (9-centimeter) retractable claw on each foot and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

The feathers might also have helped females protect their eggs. While it does mean Velociraptor was not as intelligent as we think, it still means it takes on prey three times its size ALL ON ITS OWN. 'Based on a study that modelled the speed of various dinosaurs, I'd expect Velociraptor to be able to run at over 40 kilometres per hour, at least in short bursts - faster than the fastest human. And by the way, why is it a bad thing for Velociraptor to not hunt in packs. But importantly for Velociraptor it would have been a lot faster than its common prey. Velociraptor had quite big legs for its size and they were quite muscular. More recently, multiple Utahraptor have been found with the herbivore Hippodraco, likely after becoming stuck in quicksand. 'They'd actually be much creepier because it would be something we recognise but a bit wrong. Their short forelimbs made liftoff impossible. Given that Velociraptor was flightless, what were the feathers for? Velociraptor was probably one of the more intelligent dinosaurs, because it had a large brain proportionate to its body size. Although this model shows the hands sticking out from feathery arms, comparison with birds suggests the plumes would attach from the second finger. 'There isn't currently any evidence for communal hunting of any kind for Velociraptor, although that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Get email updates about our news, science, exhibitions, events, products, services and fundraising activities. Potentially for display - to help attract mates - and to keep it warm. 'It didn't have the apparatus needed to get an animal of its size off the ground,' explains David. Velociraptor is known to have preyed on herbivores such as Protoceratops. I think it was just a cinematic ploy to make them look alert and more scary.'. 'The size and shape of Velociraptor's arms meant its wings weren't big enough for it to glide, either.

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© Durbed, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons, David elaborates, 'If you look at the claw it looks just like the talon of an eagle, which is used to grip prey and pin it down. In this case the two animals were similar lengths, but Protoceratops was much bulkier. Perhaps it was Protoceratops that provoked the attack, speculates David. The first Velociraptor fossils - a skull and the fearsome curved claw. Velociraptor was probably one of the more intelligent dinosaurs, because it had a large brain proportionate to its body size. Velociraptor probably used its sickle-shaped talon in the same way to injure, subdue and grip its prey, before dispatching it with its jaws.'. Some pterosaurs were giants and feasted on dinosaurs. All rights reserved. Despite their feathers these dinosaurs were not fliers. Scientists estimate that the flying reptile would have had a wingspan around three metres wide - larger than the relatively small Velociraptor that ate it. PLoS Biol 1(2): e40. The fact that the dinosaur ate a large bone also suggests there wasn't much meat left on the carcass. That said, it may have occasionally hunted small, infant dinosaurs. In Mongolia, where Velociraptor lived, this could have included young Protoceratops as well as baby Oviraptor and the pachycephalosaur Prenocephale. One famous fossil immortalized the two species locked in an ancient duel to the death. Despite its wing-like arms, Velociraptor wouldn't have been able to fly.