Velociraptor mongoliensis

Velociraptor mongoliensis from Wikipedia

Name: Velociraptor mongoliensis [Speedy thief of Mongolia]

When: Late Cretaceous Period, 75 - 71 million years ago

Where: Bayn Dzak region of Mongolia

Claim to fame: Velociraptor, much abused by popular media, is a medium-sized dromeosaurid - a type of theropod dinosaur close to the ancestry of birds. Contrary to what Jurassic Park might have led you to believe, they are about the size of an Airdale terrier, and, assuming they resembled some of their close relatives whose soft-tissues are preserved, were fully feathered with long plumes on their arms, tails, and perhaps legs. Yes, their braincase was large compared to other theropods of similar size, but that means that they may have had the behavioral sophistication of an ostrich, maybe, but were not the problem-solving terrors of the movies.

Dromeosaurids the size of Velociraptor certainly couldn't fly, but the feathers on their arms probably helped them run up inclined barriers or balance on top of struggling prey. Like other dromeosaurids, Velociraptor had an enlarged claw on its second toe that was probably used in dispatching prey. Indeed, one remarkable fossil called "the fighting dinosaurs" catches Velociraptor in the act. It preserves a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops who died together when a sand dune collapsed on them as they were struggling. The Protoceratops had the Velociraptor's arm clamped in its jaws while the Velociraptor's scary toe-claw is buried in the Protoceratops' belly.