Velociraptor: I Know Dino Podcast Episode 83 I Know Dino: The big dinosaur podcast. News, interviews, and discussions about dinosaurs. Are you a dinosaur enthusiast? Learn more at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino. You can also visit http://www.IknowDino.com for more information including a link to dinosaur sites near you. This episode was originally published on June 29, 2016. In our 83rd episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Geoff Jones, author of the adult thriller, The Dinosaur Four. Geoff has a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado. And he has written for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, LEGO, Marvel, and other franchises. Episode 83 is also about Velociraptor, a small dromaeosaurid often confused with Deinonychus or Utahraptor (because of Jurassic Park). In this episode, we discuss: The dinosaur of the day: Velociraptor Name means “swift seizer” Two valid species: Velociraptor mongoliensis (type species) and Velociraptor osmolskae (named in 2008, found skull in Inner Mongolia) Peter Kaisen found the first Velociraptor fossil in 1923 as part of an American Museum of Natural History expedition to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. He found a crush, but complete skull and some second toe claws Henry Fairfield Osborn named the new genus Velociraptor The species name mongoliensis is after Mongolia Earlier in 1924, Osborn had called it Ovoraptor djadochtari in a press article, but it wasn’t a formal description or named in a scientific journal, so it’s a nomen nudum (naked name) In 2008, Pascal Godefroit and colleagues named bones found in 1999 by the Sino-Belgian Dinosaur Expeditions Velocirpator osmolskae (for Polish paleontologist Halszka Osmólska). They found it was Velociraptor but not similar enough to Velociraptor mongoliensis Previously recognized Velociraptor species include Velociraptor antirrhopus and Velociraptor langstoni (formerly Deinonychus antirrhopus and Saurornitholestes langstoni) More than a dozen skeletons have been described (more than any other dromaeosaurid) In 1990 a joint Mongolian American expedition in the Gobi found more Velociraptor skeletons. One is nicknamed “Ichabodcraniosaurus” because it was a fairly complete skeleton without a skull Two Velociraptor-like skulls were found in an oviraptorid nest in Mongolia, discovered in the 90s Dromaeosaurid theropod that lived in the Cretaceous Velociraptor was originally part of Megalosauridae (wastebasket taxon) Carnivore Probably intelligent, had a large brain in proportion to its body size Velociraptor may have been nocturnal Adults grew up to 6.8 ft (2.07 m) long, and weighed 33 lb (15 kg); skull could be up to 10 in (25 cm) long Had a long tail Had a long, low skull, with an upturned snout May have been able to run as fast as 24 mph (39 kph) Bipedal with feathers In 2007 paleontologists found quill knobs on a Velociraptor mongoliensis forearms, which confirmed it had feathers Turner, Norell, and Peter Makovicky said the feathers on Velociraptor was evidence against the idea that larger maniraptorans lost their feathers because they were bigger, and quill knobs aren’t really found in modern flightless birds, so the fact that Velociraptor had quill knobs probably means that their ancestors could fly, and Velociraptor and other relatives were secondarily flightless (though its ancestors may have used feathers for something other than flight too) Velociraptor arms were too short to fly or glide Velociraptor may have used feathers for display, to help brood, or to increase their speed when running up slopes Looked a lot like birds (like birds, had wishbones, they brooded nests, they had hollow bones, and had feathers) Kiwi birds are similar to Velociraptors (similar feather types, anatomy, bone structure, and narrow anatomy of nasal passages). Kiwi birds are very active and flightless, and so make a good model for the metabolism of dromaeosaurids (probably had a moderate metabolism) To learn more about dinosaurs and I Know Dino, connect with us on the following sites: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iknowdino Twitter: https://twitter.com/iknowdino Tumblr: http://iknowdino.tumblr.com/ Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100785970585647966999 Pinterest: https://cz.pinterest.com/sabsky/dinosauria/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/i-know-dino Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6761950?shelf=dinosaurs iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino-big-dinosaur-podcast/id960976813?mt=2&ign-mpt;=uo%3D4 Sound Cloud: https://soundcloud.com/iknowdino Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/i-know-dino For more I Know Dino videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvhUJdvCkSBofvVBgHUrmLg

• published: 30 Jun 2016
• views: 64