Pronounced vuh-LOSS-ih-RAP-tor Named By - Henry F. Osborn When Named -1924
DIET:	Carnivore (meat-eater)
SIZE:	Length - 5 to 6 feet (1.5-2 m) long Height - 3 ft (1 m) tall at the hips Weight - 15 to 33 pounds (7 to 15 kg)
WHEN IT LIVED:	Late Cretaceous period, about 85 - 80 million years ago
WHERE IT LIVED:	Fossils have been found in Mongolia, Russia, and China [Asia].
FOSSILS:	What has been Found - About a dozen Velociraptor fossils have been found, including one who died in a battle to the death with Protoceratops and two hatchling Velociraptor skulls that were found near an oviraptorid nest in Mongolia (the eggs may have been a meal). Who Found the Fossils - Velociraptor was first found by H. F. Osborn. Where - The first Velociraptor was found in Mongolia in 1924.
CLASSIFICATION:	Kingdom Animalia (animals) Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain) Class Archosauria (diapsids with socket-set teeth, etc.) Order Saurischia - lizard-hipped dinosaurs Suborder Theropoda - bipedal carnivores Tetanuran - advanced theropods Infraorder Coelurosauria - lightly-built fast-running predators with hollow bones and large brains Superfamily Deinonychosauria - with a sickle-shaped claw on each foot Family Velociraptorinae (Deinonychus, Saurornitholestes, Velociraptor) Genus Velociraptor Species V. mongoliensis (type species named by Osborn, 1924)
INTERESTING FACTS:	Velociraptor had a sharp, deadly, sickle-shaped, retractible, 3.5 inch (9 cm) long claw on each foot (located on each second toe). Velociraptor may have been able to run up to roughly 40 mph (60 km/hr) for short bursts. This predator may have hunted in packs.
LINKS:	A detailed page on Velociraptor.