12 Velociraptor Facts For Kids 2024 [Must Read]

The Velociraptor was a dinosaur that dominated the earth towards the late cretaceous period. They were theropod dinosaurs, meaning they belonged to the class of two-legged carnivores. Peter Kaisen discovered the first Velociraptor fossil in the Gobi Desert of outer Mongolia in 1923. The velociraptor’s name translates to “Quick Plunderer” or “Rapid Robber” due to its nature of robbing eggs and its crafty hunting methods.

Kids can learn a lot of exciting and entertaining velociraptor facts for kids that will pique their interest and heighten their respect for these animals. We’ll examine several velociraptor facts in this article.

Basic Fact About Velociraptor For Kids

Species Type: Velociraptor mongoliensis
Type of Dinosaur: Theropod
Period: Cretaceous
Life Span: Unknown
Length: Up to 6.8 feet
Weight: Between 33 to 43 pounds
Height: Velociraptor only grew to a height of 0.5 metres (1.6 feet), about the size of a turkey.
Speed: Despite its tiny size, Velociraptor was capable of 40 mph (60kph)
An Intelligent Dinosaur: The Velociraptor had a huge brain for its size when compared to other dinosaurs. This suggests that Velociraptor had higher intelligence, and it suggests that it might have been able to utilise cunning to catch prey.

Since group hunting requires intelligence, there is evidence that Velociraptor moved in groups and may have engaged in it. Because of this, velociraptor could pounce on bigger prey.

12 Interesting Velociraptor Facts

Velociraptors had distinct physical features.

Scientists believe that velociraptors used their two hind legs to move around. They also thought that these dinosaurs were around six feet long and weighed about 45 kilograms. One of their most distinctive physical features was the curled claws on each foot. Additionally, velociraptors had long and powerful legs. They had long heads, flat noses, and razor-sharp teeth that helped them tear through flesh.

Velociraptors were aggressive creatures that hunted other animals.

The velociraptor was a meat-eating dinosaur that preyed on smaller creatures. Scientists believe their behavioral patterns made them pounce on their prey after stalking and hiding from them. If the prey attempted to flee, the velociraptor would pursue and kill them. Scientists also believe that hunting in packs allowed velociraptors to kill larger dinosaurs. While researchers aren’t entirely sure, there’s a chance that they might have been scavengers, meaning that they could have consumed dead animals and viewed them as a food source.

Their claws were one of their most remarkable features.

Each foot of the Velociraptor had four claws. Each foot had a small, off-center claw that was not attached to the main foot. The velociraptor’s most important chance to become a successful hunter was its second claw, the innermost of its three primary claws. It was a hefty, elongated, and razor-sharp weapon. Velociraptors also had flexible ankle joints that they used to reach forward and capture prey, much like how birds of prey catch their food.

Velociraptors existed millions of years ago.

Velociraptors were alive approximately 99 to 65.5 million years ago. Their fossil remains have been discovered in Asia. Scientists made a notable discovery in Asia when they found a velociraptor skeleton in Mongolia. The skeleton they discovered appeared to be engaged in combat with another dinosaur, a Protoceratops. The discovery of this skeleton helped provide researchers and scientists insight into this dinosaur’s struggle for survival. It is also worth noting that velociraptors were one of the final dinosaur species to exist on earth toward the conclusion of the Cretaceous epoch.

Who coined the name?

Henry Fairfield Osborn, who was the American Museum of Natural History‘s president at the time, gave Velociraptor its first name. Osborn combined the Latin words “Velox,” which means quick, and “raptor,” which means robber or plunderer.

They were carnivorous.

Velociraptors were carnivorous creatures. Researchers believe they were probably opportunistic, which meant that they employed a mix of hunting and scavenging techniques to take advantage of whatever they could catch. Their primary food sources were probably various small reptiles, insects, amphibians, and mammals. The velociraptor’s agility and small size would have also helped it catch its prey easily. Fossil records show that Velociraptor attacked Protoceratops, a considerably larger herbivore.

Velociraptor were an intelligent dinosaur species.

The Velociraptor had a huge brain for its size compared to other dinosaurs. This suggests that Velociraptors had higher intelligence and might have been able to use its cunning skills to catch prey. Since group hunting requires intelligence, there is evidence that Velociraptors moved in groups and may have engaged in it social behaviour. As a result, Velociraptors could pounce on bigger prey. Researchers also believe that velociraptors might have also gathered to mate and nurture offspring. Please note that when analyzing fossil records, behavior is one of the most challenging things to ascertain, and many assumptions are involved.

Researchers don’t know how these creatures communicated with each other.

While dinosaurs in movies communicated through a wide range of vocal sounds, we still don’t know what they actually sounded like. Nowadays, movie creators use pig, horse, and tortoise sounds to mimic what they think velociraptors and other dinosaurs sounded like, but the fact remains that we will never know for sure.

Velociraptors might have had feathers.

The connection between dinosaurs and contemporary birds has progressively become more apparent over time. Prior studies and research had ruled out the theory that Velociraptors have feathers. Still, more recent studies have revealed that they may have had feathers over the past few years. For instance, a 2007 velociraptor specimen appeared to have quill knobs, locations where noticeable feathers like flying feathers are attached. Researchers also believe that the Velociraptor’s small arms were a holdover from its forebears because the creature couldn’t have flown or glided with them. Researchers also believe that the feathers of the Velociraptor may have served as a physical trait that depicted their behavioral patterns. These include using their feathers to lure mates, maintain body heat, or incubate their eggs.

Velociraptors became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

At the end of the Cretaceous Period, Velociraptor perished along with all the other (non-avian) dinosaurs. This massive extinction, known as the K-T Extinction Event, was thought to have been brought on by an asteroid collision. During this epoch, more than 75% of all Earth’s species went extinct.

Velociraptors could run but they could not fly.

The Velociraptor could not fly due to its small arms. The size of their arms indicate that they most likely did not have wings large or strong enough to support the weight of their body that allowed them to fly. However, researchers believe that they ran exceptionally quickly. According to several theories, velociraptors hunted in packs, suggesting that their ability to run fast helped them survive and catch prey as a group. It’s important to note that even though these creatures resembled birds, they were not actually birds.

Velociraptor as a Top Predator

It was well known that raptors had long arms, huge skulls, feathered bodies, and sharp claws. Their primary weapon was a sickle-shaped talon on the second toe of each foot. Thanks to their notable physical features, we can now understand more about their behavior in the wild, as well as how velociraptors hunted and killed prey. Since researchers believed that their diets consisted of animals, they believe that they were predators who existed at the top of the food chain.

Also Read: Stegosaurus Facts

Conclusion

In this article, we walked you through a list of facts about velociraptor dinosaurs. They were probably fascinating creatures to have observed and studied, had they existed in the world we live in today. However, after reading about how large and predatory they were, I’m sure some of you might disagree and think that it’s best that they existed only in the past. Dinosaurs will continue to remain a mystery, even though researchers have discovered tons of information about them over time. However, now that you know a little bit about them, we hope you continue to study and learn about them going forward!