Open Paleo

Vectiraptor

Longrich et al., 2022 VEC-tee-RAP-tuh

Combines Latin 'Vectis' meaning 'Isle of Wight' and Latin 'raptor' meaning 'thief'; the species name honors discoverer Mick Green.

125.8–121.4 million years ago Barremian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Vectiraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Barremian aged Wessex Formation of the United Kingdom. The type and only species is Vectiraptor greeni, known from associated dorsal vertebrae and a partial sacrum.

Under dispute

Vectiraptor is known only from a few dorsal vertebrae and a partial sacrum, and no cladistic analysis has been run for it. Its describers argued from vertebral characters that it is a eudromaeosaur, perhaps a basal member of the group or its sister taxon, but stressed that more complete material is needed (Longrich and colleagues, 2022). It is placed at Eudromaeosauria incertae sedis.

Diagnosis

  1. Infradiapophysial fossae divided by thin accessory lamina in anterior dorsals
  2. Massive neural spines with broad interspinous ligament scars
  3. Dorsal centra with camellate pneumatic internal architecture
  4. Large, greatly expanded neural canals in dorsal and sacral vertebrae
  5. Deep, triangular infrapostzygapophyseal fossae
  6. Sacral centra lacking pneumatic foramina despite pneumatized dorsals

Species

Vectiraptor greeni Longrich et al., 2022

Type species

Named for Mick Green, who initially discovered and prepared the type material.

Holotype
IWCMS 2021.31.1, IWCMS 2021.31.2, IWCMS 2021.31.3 , Dinosaur Isle Museum
Material
Anterior dorsal vertebra, posterior dorsal vertebra, and a partial sacrum of three fused sacral vertebrae
Horizon
upper Wessex Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
Locality
Compton Bay foreshore, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

References

  1. Longrich, N. R.; Martill, D. M.; Jacobs, M. L. (2022). A new dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, and implications for European palaeobiogeography. Cretaceous Research 134. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105123 longrich2022a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass and hip height estimates.

    jones2026c