On November seventh, 1924, the American Museum of Pure Historical past revealed a brief, scientific paper written by Henry Fairfield Osborn which described three kinds of new theropod dinosaur primarily based on fossils from the Djadochta Formation (Gobi Desert). The primary theropod documented was Velociraptor mongoliensis. Its description being primarily based on a cranium and jaws (specimen quantity A. M. 6515) together with extra materials together with the scythe-like second toe claw, though within the paper this was misidentified, it was thought the claw got here from a primary finger of the hand.
Image credit score: All the pieces Dinosaur
For dinosaur and prehistoric animal figures: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Figures.
Velociraptor mongoliensis – “Alert, Swift-moving Carnivorous Dinosaur”
Osborn surmised that these fossils represented an “alert, swift-moving carnivorous dinosaur”, therefore the genus identify Velociraptor which interprets as “swift thief” or “speedy robber”. On the time Velociraptor was regarded as a diminutive member of the Megalosauridae. Over the past hundred years, greater than a dozen Velociraptor mongoliensis skeletons have been discovered. As our understanding of theropod taxonomy has developed, these kinds of dinosaur, the swift lizards, the dromaeosaurs at the moment are identified to be very distantly associated to the megalosaur household.
The cranium was discovered on August eleventh, 1923, by expedition member Peter Kaisen. Satirically, it was discovered mendacity alongside the cranium of a Protoceratops (Protoceratops andrewsi) and certainly, ever since, these two dinosaurs Protoceratops andrewsi and Velociraptor mongoliensis have been linked collectively as predator and prey. Maybe most spectacularly within the exceptional “preventing dinosaurs” specimen that preserves a Velociraptor and Protoceratops locked in mortal fight.
Image credit score: All the pieces Dinosaur
The New CollectA Deluxe Velociraptor (2024 Launch)
While the brand new for 2024 CollectA Deluxe 1:6 scale Velociraptor doesn’t present indicators of an encounter with a Protoceratops, it does mirror Osborn’s authentic view of this being an “alert, swift-moving carnivorous dinosaur”.
As well as, the determine displays a few of the very newest analysis into members of the Maniraptora. In 2023, researchers from the College of Tokyo utilized a statistical evaluation on forelimb construction that demonstrated that dinosaurs like Velociraptor had a propatagium (pronounced pro-pah-ta-gee-um). It is a gentle tissue construction that joins the wrists and the shoulders. This construction is seen in residing, volant birds. It helps with the wing flapping movement and supplies a forefront to the wing. With out this construction, birds couldn’t fly.
To learn All the pieces Dinosaur’s article about this analysis: Some Theropod Dinosaurs had a Propatagium.
Why Did Velociraptor have a Propatagium?
Velociraptor couldn’t fly, so why did it have a propatagium? This has been the topic of a lot debate amongst palaeontologists. Maybe it had a task in visible show. Maybe it acted as an extra stabiliser because the animal turned swiftly, or perhaps it demonstrated health for breeding. It has been recommended that an enlarged floor space of the forelimb would have been useful in serving to to shade eggs or maybe it performed another function within the brooding course of.
Regardless of the motive or causes for the propatagium, it’s nice to see CollectA have integrated a few of the very newest analysis into their commemorative Velociraptor determine.
To view the CollectA Deluxe mannequin vary: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Life Fashions.