Velociraptor, in real life, was a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period which inhabited what is now the Mongolia-China border with other unique dinosaurs. Velociraptor was no bigger than a wolf and with its feathers it bore a very bird-like appearance that would make it all the more different from the films. It had a long claw ("terrible claw") on the second toe of both feet, 8 cm (3 in) long, which was probably used as a weapon, plunging into the flesh of victims and causing deep wounds. Velociraptor was the first dromaeosaurid to be discovered (1923) and is still the most well known to paleontologists, with over a dozen recovered fossil skeletons - the most of any other member of its family. Since its appearance in the first film, it has become a symbol of Jurassic Park and has appeared in all the films and games.
In the Jurassic Park universe, the term "Velociraptor" is applied to the genus of another dromaeosaurid dinosaur known as Deinonychus. The films, like the novels, followed the unusual taxonomy created by Gregory S. Paul, who believed that Deinonychus, as well as a few other species of dromaeosaurids, could be classified under the genus "Velociraptor".[1] As for the large size of the raptors, the novel raptors were sized up for an unknown reason by author Michael Crichton while the movie raptors were made larger per Steven Spielberg's request to him being unimpressed by the size of Deinonychus.[2]
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Novels
see Velociraptor (novel canon)
Movies
See Velociraptor (movie canon)
Velociraptor is one of the most popular dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park movie media. The Velociraptor itself in the movies are not the actual animal, but rather appear to be their own separate species judging by the Holoscape.[3][4] Velociraptors have a major role in all four movies and The Game. Before the Jurassic Park movie aired, most people had never heard of raptors.[citation needed]
Velociraptors are often seen hunting in packs. They are portrayed as being highly intelligent and capable of setting traps and communicating with other pack members. Because of this, the main paleontologist of the franchise, Dr. Alan Grant, is very interested in the raptors.
Velociraptor is the first dinosaur seen in Jurassic Park. The first scene features a raptor being transported into the paddock. In the second half of the movie, the raptors break out of their pen and are the main thread that stands between the humans and their means of escaping the island.
In the second movie, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a Velociraptor pack inhabits the abandoned Village on Isla Sorna. The humans, who are stranded on the island, have to run and fight their way through the raptors to reach the phone in the village and reach the helicopter. Nearly all of the Velociraptors (save for one)[5] in this film are more brightly coloured compared to the completely brown raptors in the first film. This is never explained in the film itself, but behind the scenes material has stated that the colored raptors were the males of the species.[6]
In Jurassic Park III, the raptors have even more colors. The upper half of their bodies are colored purple with stripes of other colors. The males of these raptors had quills on the top of their heads. In general they had crests with more elongated and pointed skulls.[7] The raptors are stalking the humans to retrieve stolen eggs.
In Jurassic World a pack of Velociraptors each with their own names: Blue-Charlie, Delta, and Echo-is trained by Owen Grady. These raptors each have their unique personalities and skin colors and even head anatomy.[8] InGen, the company that cloned the dinosaurs, wants to use the raptors for military applications. The raptors are used to hunt down the Indominus rex. These raptors show a lot more variation in coloration between individuals. This is also the first time raptors developed a personal bond with humans.
Video games
They appear in almost all games. Below is a list of notable games featuring them:
- Velociraptor is featured in the arcade version of Jurassic Park. The player will encounter Velociraptor in Area One, Three, and Four. They will try to attack you, but are very easy to kill.
- The raptors in Chaos Island: The Lost World are fast and deadly. They can kill many enemies in packs, but they are easily killed.
- In the NES game Jurassic Park, raptors are the only dinosaurs that don't walk through doorways. They slow down when they start to corner you.
- The raptor is a playable character in the SEGA game Jurassic Park.
- In Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues, the raptor is an enemy. They will often leap at the player. Killing them will not decrease dinosaur stock amount.
- In Jurassic Park Dinosaur Battles. they are small, quick, and agile fighters; reliable against herbivores and small predators.
- Raptors are enemies in a building in Jurassic Park Interactive.
- In Jurassic Park: Trespasser, the raptors are a constant threat, appearing in all levels.
- Velociraptor is an enemy in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Game Boy game).
- Velociraptor is an enemy in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (SEGA Genesis Game).
- Male and female Velociraptor can be encountered in all levels of the arcade game The Lost World: Jurassic Park. There are also green-colored "Alpha Raptors" which can call others to them and can only be killed if shot in the head. Once it is killed, the summoned Raptors will flee from the area.
- In Jurassic Park III: Dino Defender, male raptors are encountered on all levels.
- In Jurassic Park III: Island Attack, the player is confronted by a raptor.
- Velociraptor can be encountered in the arcade game Jurassic Park III.
- Raptors are an enemy in Jurassic Park III: Danger Zone!.
- Velociraptor is the fourth dinosaur the player encounters in Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor.
- Velociraptor is featured in Jurassic Park: Explorer.
- The raptors were planned to appear in Jurassic Park: Survival.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park PSX
In the Lost World: Jurassic Park video game, Velociraptor is a playable character. They appear as they do in the novels. The information screen of this level shows that these raptors are two meters long and have around the same height as their other depictions. The raptor must escape an abandoned InGen facility into a forest where a forest fire rages while facing numerous dinosaurs and hunters.
Jurassic Park III: Park Builder
In Jurassic Park III: Park Builder, raptors, both the male and female version from Jurassic Park III, can be created. Ironically, so, too, can Deinonychus. However, they are two meters long in the game, making them Velociraptor mongoliensis. However, the Deinonychus do not resemble the raptors from the third movie, although they do look like the Raptors from the first two films.
Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
see Velociraptor/Operation Genesis
This small pack hunter is the most intelligent predator of Jurassic Park. They exhibit high levels of aggression towards humans in their environment. They hunt in packs but tend only to attack large prey if they have superior numbers. Armed with needle sharp teeth and wicked hooked claws, these small predators must be treated with extreme caution.
Jurassic Park: Builder
Velociraptor is one of the available dinosaurs in the IOS application, Jurassic Park: Builder. When you create the Velociraptor Paddock, two raptors will be placed in it. The raptors are small infants in the first levels, they reach adulthood at level 5.
Jurassic World: The Game
Velociraptor is a playable character in Jurassic World: The Game
Comics
Under contruction
Theme Parks
The raptors appeared near the end of Jurassic Park: River Adventure, where they are shown to have recently escaped, and are now tearing up the area. During Universal's Annual Halloween Horror Nights which took place at Islands of Adventure for the first time in 2002, the Jurassic Park island became JP: Extinction, and of course, with all the dinosaurs unleashed out of their paddocks, there were several scare-actors dressed up as raptors, hiding in the bushes, waiting to scare the unsuspecting tourists.
Toy lines
Trivia
- The Internet meme "Philosoraptor" is a satirical representation of the Velociraptor and their implied intelligence
- The Velociraptor in the Dangerous Games adapted feathers.
- Kelly, Oscar, Muldoon (Novel), Dr. Grant (Novel), and an unseen InGen Security Trooper are the only characters in the whole franchise who succeeded in killing a Velociraptor (besides characters in video games).
Sources
- ↑ Paul, Gregory S. (1988). Predatory Dinosaurs of the World. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 464pp. ISBN 978-0671619466.
- ↑ Bakker, Robert T. (1995) Raptor Red, p. 4. (Google Books) Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books/about/Raptor_Red.html?id=6LSERLP3BFsC&source=kp_cover
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ One of the raptors seen in the attack on the Village has a different colored skin than the other two raptors. This was done intentionally as one of the animatronics created for the film bore an identical skin color.
- ↑ The Making of The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Don Shay and Jody Duncan, p. 47
- ↑ (July 18, 2001) Dino Might. Entertainment Weekly.
- ↑ Desowitz, Bill. (June 28, 2015) A Breed Above. Animation Magazine.