How It Works-Book Of Dinosaurs

Slash or subdue?

The majorit y of non-av ian theropod dinosaurs are

characterised by razor-sharp serrated teeth and talon-like

recurved claws, the Velociraptor being no exception.

A rmed with a bount y of claws on both its hands and feet,

the Velociraptor at fi rst glance seems to be the perfect

killing machine, capable of rapidly chasing down prey

before shredding their fl esh with one of their knife-like

tools. Well, that was at least the commonly accepted

theor y among palaeontologists until late in 2011, before a

new study by a team of international dinosaur experts

suggested an entirely different use for them.

The study suggested that far from their claws –

specifi cally the Velociraptor’s much-touted ‘killing claws’

• being used to shred and slice prey in order to kill them
  prior to consumption, they were far more likely to be used
  in a similar way to the talons of modern-day hawks and
  eagles. This entails the birds using their talons as a
  gripping tool, snaring prey of a lesser body size, pinning
  them down with their own body weight and then often
  consuming them live with their beaks.
  This theory is seemingly backed up by the
  Velociraptor’s feet showing morpholog y consistent with a
  grasping function, supporting a prey immobilisation
  model rather than the originally assumed combative one.

Did Velociraptors use their sickle-

shaped claws to disembowel

prey or for some other purpose?

Anatomy of a Velociraptor

What physiological features made

this dinosaur a natural-born killer?

Teeth

The Velociraptor’s jaw was lined with 28

widely spaced teeth on each side, with

each one strongly serrated on the back

edge far more than the front – a trait that

helped it clamp on to prey once caught

© SPL; Ben Tow nsend; Matt Mar t y n iuk

Claws

A n 8.9cm (3.5in), sickle-shaped claw was

located on the second toe of each foot.

These, as well as its other claws, were

used to grip on to animals and gain

purchase on the ground when running

Legs

Velociraptors were bipedal dinosaurs

and ran on only their left and right foot

claws. Their legs were slender but with

very elastic muscles, granting them

speeds of up to 64kmh (40mph)

Spine

The Velociraptor’s spine was

S-shaped and very flexible, allowing

it to shift position and direction with

great agility. It also enabled it to

jump to a great height, so it could

pounce on targets from afar

Tail

Long bony projections under the

vertebrae, in partnership with

ossified (semi-bone) tendons,

granted the Velociraptor a stiffened

tail structure. This helped it to keep

balance and turn at speed

This is an accurate representation of a

Velociraptor, being covered in feathers

and attack ing prey smaller than itself

Velociraptor

Length: 2m (6.6ft)

Height: 0.8m (2.5ft)

Weight: 113kg (200lb)

Diet: Carnivore

Discovered: Mongolia

The statistics...

A fossilised claw from a Velociraptor. Recent

ev idence has emerged that has challenged the

idea that this was used as a slashing weapon

DID YOU KNOW? (^) Modern-day hawks and eagles attack their prey in a similar way to Velociraptors