Vectiraptor
Vectiraptor was a fast, bird-like dinosaur that lived on the Isle of Wight in England. It was a raptor, related to Velociraptor, and hunted other animals. It was about as long as a small car.12
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Fun facts
Vectiraptor is known from only a few back bones and a partial hip bone, found on a beach at Compton Bay.3
Its vertebrae had air pockets inside, like modern birds, making its skeleton lighter.2
Vectiraptor belonged to a group of large raptors called Eudromaeosauria, which includes the famous Velociraptor.2
The species name greeni honors Mick Green, who discovered the fossils in 2004 and carefully prepared them.1
Vectiraptor lived about 125 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period.5
Its tall neural spines on the back vertebrae had large scars where strong ligaments attached, helping support its body.3
Vectiraptor is similar to raptors from North America, suggesting dinosaurs could travel between Europe and America in the Early Cretaceous.2
Most asked questions about Vectiraptor
?How big was Vectiraptor?
About 2.5 to 3 metres long, roughly the size of a large dog.1
?What did Vectiraptor eat?
It was a predator that likely ambushed and overpowered prey, including small and juvenile dinosaurs, even if they were larger than itself.4
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Vectiraptor
- Named by
- Longrich et al. 20225
- Group
- Raptors
- Family / clade
- Dromaeosauridae5
- Classification
- Theropoda > Dromaeosauridae5
- Age of the rocks
- 126 to 121 million years (Barremian)5
- Rock formations
- Wessex5
- Countries
- United Kingdom5
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- The fossils were found by Mick Green and Nick Chase in 2004 at Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight. The dinosaur was named Vectiraptor greeni by Nicholas Longrich, David Martill and Megan Jacobs in 2021.13
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating how Vectiraptor is related to other raptors from North America and whether it crossed a land bridge or island-hopped.2
Where the facts come from
- Vectiraptor (en.wikipedia.org)
- A new dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, and implications for European palaeobiogeography (sciencedirect.com)
- A new dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, and implications for European palaeobiogeography (pure.port.ac.uk)
- Velociraptor relative that ambushed dinosaurs is a new species | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Vectiraptor in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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