Velociraptor

- Pronunciation: veh-loss-ih-RAP-tor
- Translation: Quick Plunderer or Rapid Robber
- Order: Saurischia
- Suborder: Theropoda
- Infraorder: Tetanurae
- Micro-order: Maniraptora (of the microorder Coelurosauria)
- Family: Dromaeosauridae
- Height: 2.5 feet (0.8 meters)
- Weight: 200 pounds (91 kg)
- Length: 5.9 feet (1.8 meters)
- Period: Late Cretaceous
- Description: Carnivore, Bipedal
- Notes: Found in Mongolia, China and Russia, Velociraptor wasa ferocious predator with the second toe of each foot bearing aformidably large, retractable claw. Velociraptor was similar in appearance to the larger Deinonychus and the much largerUtahraptor. Like Deinonychus and possibly Utahraptor, it mayhave hunted in packs -- although Velociraptor and Utahraptorfossils have never been found in groups like Deinonychus. Velociraptor was not as fast as a cheetah, nor as smart asa chimpanzee, as suggested in the movie Jurassic Park.