Open Paleo

Velociraptor

Osborn, 1924 vee-LOHS-i-RAP-tor /vəˌlɒsɪˈræptər/

From Latin velox (swift) and raptor (thief, plunderer); meaning "swift thief", chosen by Osborn to evoke the rapid, predatory habits inferred from the holotype's slender skull and recurved unguals.

83.6–72.2 million years ago Campanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Velociraptor is a small dromaeosaurid theropod from the late Campanian of central Asia, defined by a long, low skull, recurved serrated teeth, and a hyperextensible sickle-clawed second pedal digit. Osborn erected the genus and the type species V. mongoliensis in 1924 on a partial skull and front-limb claw collected by Peter Kaisen in August 1923 at the Flaming Cliffs (Bayan Zag) of the Djadokhta Formation in central Mongolia, during the Central Asiatic Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History. Soviet-Mongolian expeditions during the 1960s-70s recovered substantially more material, culminating in the famous "Fighting Dinosaurs" specimen (MPC-D 100/25), a near-complete skeleton of V. mongoliensis preserved in a death struggle with a Protoceratops andrewsi from Tugrugeen Shire. Barsbold (1983) reviewed the new material and erected Velociraptorinae for the genus. Turner and colleagues (2007) reported quill knobs on the ulna of a specimen they referred to V. mongoliensis, the first direct evidence of feathers in a eudromaeosaur; Napoli and colleagues (2021) note that the referral is provisional and the specimen is under renewed study. Velociraptor's cultural prominence outside paleontology stems primarily from its oversized depiction in the Jurassic Park franchise, which conflates V. mongoliensis with the much larger Deinonychus antirrhopus.

Under dispute

Godefroit and colleagues (2008) named Velociraptor osmolskae on two maxillae and a lacrimal from the Bayan Mandahu Formation of Inner Mongolia, and whether it belongs in Velociraptor is unsettled. Evans and colleagues (2013) found Velociraptor paraphyletic, with V. osmolskae closer to Tsaagan than to V. mongoliensis, and Czepiński (2023) recovered it with Linheraptor and Tsaagan in analyses of two different matrices. Wang and colleagues (2022) split: their parsimony analysis places it outside a clade of V. mongoliensis, Tsaagan and Linheraptor, while their Bayesian tree pairs the two Velociraptor species with weak support. Neither of the two reanalyses by Bindellini and colleagues (2025) groups it with V. mongoliensis, and they support erecting a new genus for it. No new genus has yet been named.

Diagnosis

  1. Long, low skull with elongated face and greatly enlarged orbits; faciocranial index approximately 170%.
  2. Postorbital region of the cranium extremely abbreviated; jaws excessively long and slender.
  3. Teeth recurved and unilaterally or bilaterally serrate, set in relatively wide interdental spaces; about 11 maxillary and 14 dentary teeth.
  4. Pronounced lacrimal boss at the dorsal margin of the preorbital bar; lacrimal broadly exposed on the skull roof.
  5. Cervical centra with strongly developed epipophyses overhanging the postzygapophyseal facets; axis centrum pneumatic.
  6. Anterior caudal vertebrae bearing elongate ossified tendons of the prezygapophyses and chevrons that form a stiffening sheath over 8-10 caudals.
  7. Pelvis opisthopubic and dolichoiliac, with the pubis directed posteroventrally and a shortened ischium bearing a distally placed obturator process.
  8. Pedal digit II hyperextensible and bearing an enlarged, sickle-shaped predatory ungual; metatarsal III mediolaterally pinched proximally and slightly shorter than II and IV.

Species (2)

Velociraptor mongoliensis Osborn, 1924

Type species

From mongoliensis ("of Mongolia"), referring to the country of origin of the holotype.

Holotype
AMNH 6515 , American Museum of Natural History
Material
Skull and lower jaws plus one manual ungual and adjoining phalanges.
Horizon
Bayn Dzak Member, Djadokhta Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
Bayan Zag, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

Velociraptor osmolskae Godefroit et al., 2008

Honors Halszka Osmólska, in recognition of contributions to the understanding of Asian theropods.

Holotype
IMM 99NM-BYM-3/3 , Inner Mongolia Museum, Hohhot
Material
Paired maxillae and a left lacrimal.
Horizon
Bayan Mandahu Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
quarry SBDE 99BM-III, 15 km north of Bayan Mandahu village, Inner Mongolia, China
Diagnosis
  1. Ten maxillary teeth (most V. mongoliensis specimens have eleven or more).
  2. Promaxillary fenestra subequal in size to the maxillary fenestra and teardrop-shaped (reduced and slit-like in V. mongoliensis).
  3. Maxillary fenestra relatively large (much smaller in V. mongoliensis).
  4. No longitudinal ridge between the alveolar border and the row of neurovascular foramina on the maxilla (present in V. mongoliensis).
  5. Denticles on the maxillary teeth weakly developed, with only incipient serrations on the distal carina (more distinct in V. mongoliensis).
  6. Ascending process of the lacrimal less straight than in V. mongoliensis.

Notable specimens

  • “Fighting Dinosaurs”

    MPC-D 100/25 Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences Found 1971 by Polish-Mongolian team iconic

    Famous specimen preserving a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops in combat, giving direct evidence of predatory behavior, with one sickle claw apparently embedded in the prey's throat. Rapidly buried in dune sand in lifelike poses; a national treasure of Mongolia.

    Barsbold (1983)

  • MPC-D 100/54

    Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences gut contents

    Roughly sub-adult individual found with the bones of an azhdarchid pterosaur within its stomach cavity, interpreted as scavenging. The pterosaur bones lacked digestion damage, and the animal carried a broken rib showing signs of healing; it likely died soon after, possibly from the earlier injury.

    Hone et al. (2012)

  • MPC-D 100/976

    Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences pathology

    Skull bearing two parallel rows of small punctures on the frontal bones matching the spacing and size of Velociraptor teeth, interpreted as a likely fatal intraspecific bite wound; the bone shows no sign of healing and the specimen was not scavenged. From the Tugrik Shireh locality.

    Norell et al. (1995)

  • IGM 100/2000

    Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences ontogeny

    Juvenile Velociraptor represented by a complete skeleton including the skull of a young individual, from the Tugriken Shireh locality of the Djadokhta Formation, documenting an early growth stage of the taxon.

    Barsbold & Osmólska (1999)

References

  1. Osborn, H. F. (1924). Three new Theropoda, Protoceratops zone, central Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 144: 1-12.

    Erects Velociraptor mongoliensis on AMNH 6515 from the Djadokhta Formation at Shabarakh Usu; same paper also names Saurornithoides and Oviraptor.

    osborn1924b
  2. Barsbold, R. (1983). Khishchnye dinozavry mela Mongolii [Carnivorous dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of Mongolia]. Trudy - Sovmestnaya Sovetsko-Mongol'skaya Paleontologicheskaya Ekspeditsiya 19: 1-117.

    Reviews substantial new Velociraptor material (including the Fighting Dinosaurs specimen MPC-D 100/25) and erects the subfamily Velociraptorinae.

    barsbold1983a
  3. Hone, D.; Tsuihiji, T.; Watabe, M.; Tsogtbaatar, K. (2012). Pterosaurs as a food source for small dromaeosaurs. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 331-332: 27. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.02.021 hone2012a
  4. Norell, M. A.; Gaffney, E. S.; Dingus, L. (1995). Discovering Dinosaurs in the American Museum of Natural History. Alfred A. Knopf. norell1995a
  5. Barsbold, R.; Osmólska, H. (1999). The skull of Velociraptor (Theropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 44(2): 189-219. barsbold1999a
  6. Norell, M. A.; Clark, J. M.; Turner, A. H.; Makovicky, P. J.; Barsbold, R.; Rowe, T. (2006). A new dromaeosaurid theropod from Ukhaa Tolgod (Ömnögov, Mongolia). American Museum Novitates 3545(1): 1-51. American Museum of Natural History (BioOne sponsored). doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2006)3545[1:andtfu]2.0.co;2

    Describes Tsaagan mangas and supplies modern comparative cranial diagnoses for Velociraptor mongoliensis (lacrimal boss, pneumatic axis, prootic tympanic recess, strong cervical epipophyses).

    norell2006a
  7. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026c
  8. Turner, A. H.; Makovicky, P. J.; Norell, M. A. (2007). Feather quill knobs in the dinosaur Velociraptor. Science 317(5845): 1721. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). doi:10.1126/science.1145076

    Reported quill knobs on the ulna of Velociraptor.

    turner2007c
  9. Napoli, J. G.; Ruebenstahl, A. A.; Bhullar, B. A. S.; Turner, A. H.; Norell, M. A. (2021). A New Dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Coelurosauria) from Khulsan, Central Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 2021(3982). American Museum of Natural History (BioOne sponsored). doi:10.1206/3982.1

    Gives the quill-knob specimen's number as IGM 100/3503, from Zos Wash, which Turner and colleagues (2007) printed as IGM 100/981, and says its referral to V. mongoliensis is provisional.

    napoli2021a
  10. Evans, D. C.; Larson, D. W.; Currie, P. J. (2013). A new dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) with Asian affinities from the latest Cretaceous of North America. Naturwissenschaften 100(11): 1041-1049. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/s00114-013-1107-5

    Recovers Velociraptor as paraphyletic, with V. osmolskae closer to Tsaagan than to V. mongoliensis.

    evans2013a
  11. Wang, X.; Cau, A.; Guo, B.; Ma, F.; Qing, G.; Liu, Y. (2022). Intestinal preservation in a birdlike dinosaur supports conservatism in digestive canal evolution among theropods. Scientific Reports 12(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-24602-x

    Parsimony analysis places V. osmolskae outside a clade of V. mongoliensis, Tsaagan and Linheraptor; the Bayesian tree pairs the two Velociraptor species with a posterior probability of 0.52.

    wang2022a
  12. Czepiński, Ł. (2023). Skull of a dromaeosaurid dinosaur Shri devi from the Upper Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert suggests convergence to the North American forms. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 68(2): 227-243. doi:10.4202/app.01065.2023

    Recovers V. osmolskae with Linheraptor and Tsaagan, away from V. mongoliensis, in analyses of two matrices.

    czepiński2023a
  13. Bindellini, G.; Moscarella, A.; Makovicky, P.; Manucci, F.; Romano, M. (2025). Velociraptor: the state of the art 100 years after the discovery of this iconic dinosaur. Italian Journal of Geosciences 144(3): 460-486. doi:10.3301/IJG.2025.22

    Reviews a century of work on Velociraptor; its two reanalyses do not group V. osmolskae with V. mongoliensis, and it supports a new genus for that species.

    bindellini2025a
  14. Godefroit, P.; Currie, P. J.; Li, H.; Shang, C. Y.; Dong, Z. M. (2008). A new species of Velociraptor (Dinosauria: Dromaeosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of northern China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28(2): 432-438. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[432:ansovd]2.0.co;2

    Original description of Velociraptor osmolskae on cranial material from the Bayan Mandahu Formation of Inner Mongolia.

    godefroit2008b