Learn about Raptors

Understanding Raptors
It is quite hard to understand Raptors - with them being extinct and all, but luckily, some very clever people have had a go at it for us.

The Definition
Raptor is a modern day term for a Bird of Prey (such as Eagles, Hawks and Falcons). However, the term is often applied to some theropod dinosaurs, but there is no such genus as a "Raptor", it is generally applied to feathered, bipedal, carnivorous and (usually) small dinosaurs. Therefore, most raptors were actually Late Cretaceous, and incorporated the dromeosaurs. The term raptor was not applied to these creatures until 1993, after the popularity of Jurassic Park and was simply a shortened version of Velociraptor.

Features
Bipedal with three claws on their feet (one of which was raised and shaped like a sickle).

A long tail is essential for balance since many dromeosaurs had very short bodies, and the tail was 50% or more of it's length. Some fossil finds suggest they were rigid, and others were more like a whip, allowing a lot of movement.

They were small to medium sized, ranging from 0.7m to 6m in length - as a guide, Tyrannosaurus rex is accepted to have been 13.7m length on average.

Dromeosaurs were feathered, allbeit varying in coverage and feather development, from proto-feathers (quills essentially that appear like fine hairs), right through to fully developed, but possibly non-functional, wings.

Movement and Behaviour
Raptors and dromeosaurs are often shown in TV and film as fast, vicious, intelligent and hunting in packs. Although it is hard to find eveidence for viciousness and intelligence in the fossil record, there is some. There have been at least two fossils of Velociraptor eating and attacking the larger protoceratops. Intelligence can only be infered from the amount of evidence for pack behaviour - since this requires well developed social skills. It is however, contentious how pack behaviour evidence has been interpreted.

Some raptors are thought to have actually flown by powered flight (Rahovanis and Archaeopteryx) and one species (Microraptor) thought to use it's "wings" for gliding. Whatever the use of wing formations, most researchers are agreed that the dromeosaurs were fast runners, although the 60mph for Velociraptor stated in Jurassic Park is a tad ambitious - mainly because the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park are almost completely inaccurate)