ðĶ
VELOCIRAPTOR: REAL VS. MOVIE
PAGE 1 OF 5 — MEET THE REAL RAPTOR
REAL DEAL
NOT A GIANT MOVIE MONSTER
Velociraptor mongoliensis was a small theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia and China, about 75 to 71 million years ago. From nose to tail tip it reached roughly 2 metres long. At the hip it stood only about half a metre tall, about knee height on a person. It weighed around 15 to 20 kilograms, similar to a turkey or a small wolf. That is far smaller than the human-sized hunters shown in blockbuster films. Fossils show it was covered in feathers, with a long stiff tail and sharp teeth for catching small prey.
ð REAL SIZE
ðĶ ~2 m long including tail
ðŠķ Feathered, bird-like body
âïļ ~15â20 kg, not human-sized
ðŠķ Feathered, bird-like body
âïļ ~15â20 kg, not human-sized
TINY!
SIZE CHECK
ðĶ Real Velociraptor was turkey-sized or wolf-sized, not taller than a person.
ð Its body was long because of a stiff tail, but its hip height stayed low to the ground.
ð Its body was long because of a stiff tail, but its hip height stayed low to the ground.
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ðïļ Velociraptor lived in dry deserts and dunes in what is now Mongolia and northern China.
ðĶī Famous fossils from the Gobi Desert helped scientists rebuild what it really looked like.
ðĶī Famous fossils from the Gobi Desert helped scientists rebuild what it really looked like.