Therefore, while Velociraptor is commonly depicted as a pack hunter, as in Jurassic Park, there is only limited fossil evidence to support this theory for dromaeosaurids in general, and none specific to Velociraptor itself.

In informal usage they are often called raptors ( after Velociraptor ), a term popularized by the film Jurassic Park ; a few types include the term " raptor " directly in their name and have come to emphasize their supposed bird-like habits.

Velociraptor (; meaning ' swift seizer ') is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period.

Velociraptor, like other dromaeosaurids, had a large manus (' hand ') with three strongly curved claws, which were similar in construction and flexibility to the wing bones of modern birds.

The second digit, for which Velociraptor is most famous, was highly modified and held retracted off of the ground.

However, because the name " Ovoraptor " was not published in a scientific journal or accompanied by a formal description, it is considered a nomen nudum (' naked name '), and the name Velociraptor retains priority.

Velociraptor is a member of the subfamily Velociraptorinae, a derived sub-group of the larger family Dromaeosauridae.

In phylogenetic taxonomy, Velociraptorinae is usually defined as " all dromaeosaurs more closely related to Velociraptor than to Dromaeosaurus.

In the " Fighting Dinosaurs " specimen, the Velociraptor lies on its side, to the right of the Protoceratops, with one of its sickle claws apparently embedded in the throat of its prey, while the beak of Protoceratops is clamped down upon the right forelimb of its attacker.

Furthermore, they noted that quill knobs are almost never found in flightless bird species today, and that their presence in Velociraptor ( presumed to have been flightless due to its relatively large size and short forelimbs ) is evidence that the ancestors of dromaeosaurids could fly, making Velociraptor and other large members of this family secondarily flightless, though it is possible the large wing feathers inferred in the ancestors of Velociraptor had a purpose other than flight.

These features seemed to make the tail into a stiff counterbalance, but a fossil of the very closely related Velociraptor mongoliensis ( IGM 100 / 986 ) has an articulated tail skeleton that is curved laterally in a long S – shape.

Velociraptor is geologically younger than Deinonychus, but even more closely related ( within the subfamily velociraptorinae, see Classification, below ).

Deinonychus antirrhopus is one of the best-known dromaeosaurid species, and is a close relative of the smaller Velociraptor, found in younger, Late Cretaceous – age rock formations in Central Asia.

Clear fossil evidence of modern avian-style feathers exists for several related dromaeosaurids, including Velociraptor and Microraptor, though no direct evidence is yet known for Deinonychus itself.

Some coelurosaur groups that flourished during the Cretaceous were the tyrannosaurids ( including Tyrannosaurus ) the dromaeosaurids ( including Velociraptor and Deinonychus, which are remarkably similar in form to the oldest known bird, Archaeopteryx ), the bird-like troodontids and oviraptorosaurs, the ornithomimosaurs ( or " ostrich dinosaurs "), the strange giant-clawed herbivorous therizinosaurs, and the avialans, which include modern birds and is the only dinosaur lineage to survive the Cretaceous – Paleogene extinction event.

However, one well-preserved specimen of Velociraptor mongoliensis ( IGM 100 / 986 ) has an articulated tail skeleton that is curved horizontally in a long S-shape.

In light of this, it is most likely that even the larger ground-dwelling dromaeosaurids bore feathers, since even flightless birds today retain most of their plumage, and relatively large dromaeosaurids, like Velociraptor, are known to have retained pennaceous feathers.

During an American Museum of Natural History expedition to the Outer Mongolian Gobi Desert, on 11 August 1923 Peter Kaisen recovered the first Velociraptor fossil known to science: a crushed but complete skull, associated with one of the raptorial second toe claws ( AMNH 6515 ).

All dromaeosaurids have also been referred to the family Archaeopterygidae by at least one author ( which would, in effect, make Velociraptor a flightless bird ).

This suggests Velociraptor may have used its sickle claw to pierce vital organs of the throat, such as the trachea ( windpipe ), or one or more of the branches of the jugular vein or carotid artery, rather than slashing the abdomen.

As dinosaur discoveries multiplied, Velociraptor was later recognized as a dromaeosaurid.

For example, a Compsognathus fossil was found with a lizard in its stomach, and a Velociraptor specimen was found locked in combat with a Protoceratops ( a type of ornithischian dinosaur ).

He must battle a varying amount dinosaur foes such as the Velociraptor, Dilophosaurus, Compy's and the T. Rex as a end boss of a couple of levels.

There is also a short show in which a dinosaur egg hatches over a span of five minutes and a Velociraptor is born.

Contemporary genera included Velociraptor and Protoceratops.

However, whereas most theropods had feet with three digits contacting the ground, dromaeosaurids like Velociraptor walked on only their third and fourth digits.

When first described in 1924, Velociraptor was placed in the family Megalosauridae, as was the case with most carnivorous dinosaurs at the time ( Megalosauridae, like Megalosaurus, functioned as a sort of ' wastebin ' taxon, where many unrelated species were grouped together ).

The fact that the ancestors of Velociraptor were feathered and possibly capable of flight long suggested to paleontologists that Velociraptor bore feathers as well, since even flightless birds today retain most of their feathers.

Saurornitholestes most closely resembles Velociraptor, although the precise relationships of the Dromaeosauridae are still relatively poorly understood.

* Informal name for species in the Velociraptor genus of dinosaurs, or members of the family Dromaeosauridae in general

Turner and colleagues interpreted the presence of feathers on Velociraptor as evidence against the idea that the larger, flightless maniraptorans lost their feathers secondarily due to larger body size.

Velociraptor can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout.

In 2012 Hone and colleagues published a paper that described a Velociraptor specimen with a long bone of an azhdarchid pterosaur in its gut.

Velociraptor are well known for their role as vicious and cunning killers in the 1990 novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and its 1993 film adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg, in which they served as the main antagonists.

The filmmakers also increased the size of the film's Velociraptor and changed the shape of its snout.

Velociraptor and its allies are regarded as using their claws more than their skulls as killing tools, as opposed to dromaeosaurids like Dromaeosaurus, which have stockier skulls.

( 2005 ) estimated that Dromaeosaurus had a bite nearly three times as powerful as that of Velociraptor and suggested it relied more on its jaws than on the sickle claw to kill its prey.

After defeating the Alpha Velociraptor and its tribe that lives atop the mountain, she is rescued by helicopter.

The " raptors " portrayed in Jurassic Park were modeled after a larger relative, Deinonychus, which Gregory Paul at the time called Velociraptor antirrhopus.

In Jurassic Park III, the Velociraptor are depicted with quill-like structures along the back of the head and neck, although these do not resemble the down-like feathers known from real-life dromaeosaurids, and the quill knobs on some Velociraptor specimens show they had fully developed feathers akin to those of modern birds.

Due to the success of many Jurassic Park-related products, Velociraptor has become a ubiquitous representation of dinosaurs in popular culture.

Bakker was at the time consulting with the designers of the Jurassic Park film, whose largest portrayed Velociraptor — called the " big female " in the script — was coincidentally the same size as the newly discovered Utahraptor.