VR Jurassic Encyclopedia #15
Velociraptor dinosaur facts VR 360 video education
This is the 15th episode in our VR Jurassic Encyclopedia series where we navigate the nooks and crannies of Jurassic World. In today’s episode, we take a closer look at a dinosaur from the dromeosaur family, Velociraptor to be exact. In the next part of the article, you can read some interesting facts about this amazing creature. What features did this dinosaur have? To find out more, we invite you to read the article and watch our 360 video.
Velociraptor was a dinosaur that lived about 75 to 71 million years ago in the second half of the Cretaceous period. This dinosaur belonged to the dromeosaur family and was a genus of theropod. There are currently two species of this dinosaur, Velociraptor mongoliensis, and Velociraptor osmolskae.
The first fossils of this dinosaur were found in 1923 by an American history museum expedition to the Gobi desert in outer Mongolia. A crushed but complete skull and one of Velociraptor’s claws were found then. Interestingly, while American teams were excluded from Mongolia due to the Cold War, Soviet expeditions led by chic scientists allowed several other Velociraptor specimens to be found. One of the most famous specimens found by the expeditions was a Velociraptor stuck in battle along with Protoceratops. In 1990, another fossil was found in the Chinese part of the Gobi Desert. Very well-preserved Velociraptor skeletons were then excavated.
Velociraptor was a medium-sized dromaeosaurid. It is estimated that adult specimens of this dinosaur measured up to 2.07m in length and 0.5m in height. Its weight ranged from 15kg to 19.7kg according to various sources of information. If one wanted to visualize the size of this dinosaur, it could be compared to a small goat, because the size of these animals is very similar. The skull of this dinosaur was armed with sharp teeth and the hands had three sharp claws. The skeleton of the Velociraptor had numerous features linking it to birds. This may be indicated, among others, by the flexibility of the arm of this dinosaur, which resembled the flexibility of the arms of birds.
Velociraptor was most likely an active predator that hunted smaller or similarly sized dinosaurs. Based on the Velociraptor’s trailing rings, it is speculated that it may have been a nocturnal hunter. In terms of how it hunted, Velociraptor was very similar to modern birds of prey. It is speculated that it jumped on prey and pinned down with its legs to then eat its prey alive. Additionally, studies of this dinosaur’s skull indicate that it may have been able to detect a wide range of sounds, which made it easier to hunt.
These are just some of the amazing facts about the Velociraptor dinosaur. If you want to get more interesting facts, be sure to watch the VR Jurassic Encyclopedia #15 video posted on the website and continue our VR 360 video education about dinosaurs. Don’t wait any longer, enter now for another dose of facts from the Jurassic world!