Velociraptor
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Velociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. It is one of the most famous dromaeosaurs ever, mainly due to its appearances in the Jurassic Park franchise. Velociraptors make several appearances in giant monster media.
They have consistently shown up in the King Kong series, first appearing in the animated television show, Kong: The Animated Series where they menaced some of the giant ape's human allies on two separate occasions, being deterred both times by the mighty ape himself. They also appeared within the direct to video animated film, Kong: Return to the Jungle where they similarly attack Kong's human friends. Later in the film, some members of the species were captured by the Cyber-Hunters and taken to a zoo in New York City. However, they would soon break free and run rampant in the city, before being corralled back to Kong Island.
Name
Velociraptor's name is derived from the combination of the Latin words velox, which roughly means "speedy", and raptor, which roughly means "thief".
Design
Velociraptor has generally been depicted as a small, gracile, bipedal theropod with three fingers and sharp teeth. It is famous for the sickle claws on its inner toes―a trait it shares with other dromaeosaurs and a fellow theropod group, troodontids―which are held off the ground as opposed to claws on the other two toes on each foot. Originally, it was depicted with entirely scaly skin; however, more recent studies indicate that it and other dromaeosaurs possessed feathers covering large portions of their body, including wing feathers on their arms based on the presence of quill knobs on an ulna attributed to either Velociraptor or another dromaeosaur.[2][3] Like other bipedal dinosaurs, Velociraptor was historically depicted with pronated wrists, but it is now thought that its wrists were held in a neutral position.
In Kong: The Animated Series, Velociraptors are portrayed as having a yellow body with a brighter colored underbelly. Brown stripes run down their bodies and arms. Their eyes have yellow sclera and slit pupils. Their clawed talons on both hands and feet are a dark greyish-brown.
In Godzilla: Rage Across Time, the Velociraptors depicted had blue underbellies with feathered manes and wings. They also possessed red streaks going across their heads, backs, and tails.
Selected history
- Kong: The Animated Series (TV 2000-2001) [episodes 8, 10]
- Kong: Return to the Jungle (DVD 2006)
- The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)
- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) [badge]
Kong: The Animated Series
"Reborn"
When Jason Jenkins wandered off on his own in the forests near Kong's lair, upset after thinking Lua and Eric Tannenbaum IV were in love with each other, a Velociraptor charged at him from the brush. Jason jumped to the side, and the Velociraptor fell over the edge of a nearby cliff and into the river below. Having survived the fall, it began to swim away. Soon after, a second Velociraptor emerged from the brush to attack Jason and chased him. Jason climbed up a tree, and the Velociraptor attempted to climb after him, but it could not scale the tree trunk. However, the dromaeosaur got onto a rock and leapt from it onto the branch where Jason was standing. The Velociraptor approached Jason as he called out to Kong before he attempted to descend from the tree on a vine. The vine snapped, causing Jason to fall, leaving him vulnerable as the Velociraptor leapt down towards him. However, Kong arrived and grabbed the raptor before tossing it down into the river.
"Night of the Talons"
A pack of Velociraptors chased Eric Tannenbaum IV out of the jungles on Kong Island and into Dr. Lorna Jenkins' corn farm, where Jason and Lua were harvesting corn. Jason, Tan, and Lua - all three on the dromaeosaurs' menu - attempted to hide amongst the corn stalks. However, the raptors quickly found the trio, and began to surround them. Luckily, Kong arrived and drove the Velociraptors away.
Kong: Return to the Jungle
An exploration team led by Hunter Stag III's grandfather was attacked by Velociraptors during an expedition on Kong Island, and the pack almost killed Dr. Lorna Jenkins, when the original Kong came to the doctor's rescue. The raptors attacked and wounded Kong as a group, severely weakening him, but the giant ape was able to drive them off.
Among the memories Jason Jenkins had of Kong growing up was Kong scaring away a lone Velociraptor that threatened Jenkins.
On Kong Island, a Velociraptor pack menaced a Triceratops, when a Tyrannosaurus rex appeared from the forest to attack the herbivore as well. However, the Velociraptors scattered when Kong drove them away from the Triceratops. Sometime later, when Ramone De La Porta and Hunter Stag III were rounding up the island's fauna, three Velociraptors fled from a group of Cyber-Hunters, only to be captured when they fired bolas to snare the theropods' legs. The raptors were put in crates and loaded into a tanker along with other Kong Island fauna and taken to Stag's zoo in New York City. Not long after their arrival, as per Stag's plan, they escaped alongside the other prehistoric animals and began running rampant across the streets of New York. They and the other animals were gathered up once again after Stag was defeated, and brought back to Kong Island.
The LEGO Batman Movie
Amongst the supervillains locked away in the Phantom Zone was a Velociraptor, likely referencing the antagonist Velociraptors from the 1993 Jurassic Park film adaptation.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Bernie Hayes wears a Velociraptor badge on his jacket, among many other badges and pins.
Abilities
Physical abilities
Velociraptor's claws and teeth were well suited to helping it wound and bring down prey. The signature sickle claws on its feet have traditionally been viewed as slashing weapons used to cut wounds into prey; however, more recent studies favor ideas of their function as stabbing weapons used to puncture vital spots or pin down their victims in a similar way to modern birds of prey.[4][5]
In Kong: The Animated Series, a Velociraptor demonstrated some noteworthy strength, being able to easily break a giant cornstalk.
Much like they would have been in real life, Velociraptors have been often depicted as fast and agile creatures across fiction. In Kong: The Animated Series, Velociraptors were shown to very easily keep up with their prey, and could jump considerable distances vertically and horizontally.
Intelligence
The intelligence of Velociraptor - and other dromaeosaurs - has been a subject of debate in the scientific community for decades. Part of this debate has been possible evidence of pack hunting in dromaeosaurs, and whether said pack hunting behavior applies to dromaeosaurs as a whole. Deinonychus, for example, has historically displayed evidence for group hunting, but not conclusive evidence of pack hunting[6]; moreover, no evidence that Velociraptors hunted in groups has been found. Regardless, Velociraptors have often been depicted as highly intelligent pack hunters in fiction, smarter than most other dinosaurs they appear alongside.
In Kong: The Animated Series, Velociraptors have displayed high intelligence, including pack hunting behavior. In the episode "Reborn", a Velociraptor recognizes it cannot reach Jason Jenkins, and uses a rock as an elevated surface to jump onto the branch he is standing on. In "Night of the Talons", a Velociraptor pack easily found Jason, Lua, and Eric Tannenbaum IV amid the cornstalks in Dr. Lorna Jenkins' corn field, and proceeded to corral the trio in an attempt to catch and eat them. In Kong: Return to the Jungle, Velociraptors were also shown hunting in packs.
Books
- GODZILLA (1998) [mentioned]
- Kong Reborn (2005) [mentioned]
Comics
- Godzilla: Rage Across Time #5 (2016)
Godzilla: Rage Across Time
"The Cretaceous"
As Godzilla emerged from the ground after being thrown into lava by Monster X, he inadvertently incinerated two Homo erectus brought to Earth by the Xiliens as well as a Velociraptor, leaving behind fossil evidence discovered in modern-day northern Israel in 2016.
Gallery
Merchandise
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Trendmasters Mechagodzilla vs. Stegosaurus and Velociraptor -
Trendmasters Mecha-King Ghidorah vs. Velociraptors and Pteranodon
Roar
In Kong: The Animated Series, the Velociraptors sample vulture calls. In Kong: Return to the Jungle, they sample snarls of domestic cats and roars of big cats.
Trivia
- King Cobra's hisses are reused vocalizations from Jurassic Park's Velociraptors.
- The Velociraptor badge on Bernie's outfit appears to originate from the cover art of the 2002 video game Turok: Evolution.
Related characters
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External links
See also
References
This is a list of references for Velociraptor. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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