Atrociraptor Facts For Kids
Not as famous as its cousin the Velociraptor, the Atrociraptor has burst on the screen and into people imaginations after its appearance in Jurassic World -Dominion, fairly savage appearance it has to be said. ( more on that later! ) it is know only from a skull and some teeth, but it is definitely a raptor and one with a big bite it seems. Let’s take at look at some Atrociraptor fact.
The Atrociraptor is a carnivorous member of the dromaeosaurid family that lived in the late Cretaceous period around 70 million years ago. It was about 6ft (2 meters) long with a comparatively large head filled with largely serrated teeth. it head was taller and more stocky than other raptor species discovered so far.
So we will try to fill in some of the gaps in information about this new dinosaur. and give you some talking point after you have seen the movie. You can impress your friends and family with these facts about the savage Atrociraptor.
So lets take a look at what we know so far about this “savage thief!”
Quick Atrociraptor facts
Atrociraptor was about 2 meters (6.5 ft) long and weighing about 15 -20 kg (44 lbs).
The Atrociraptor would have had feathers
Atrociraptor was certainly a carnivore
They were alive about 70 million years ago.
Atrociraptor was a member of the Theropod Dinosaur Family.
You pronounce Atrociraptor like this Ah-tross -ee – rap – tor. It has 5 syllables
Atrociraptor means “savage thief” and it certainly looked savage
30 Facts About the Atrociraptor
The atrociraptor is relatively new dinosaur with the first fossils only being found in 1995. So we still have lots to learn about this new theropod. Below is what we know so far.
1. The Atrociraptor is a member of the dromaeosaurid family that lived in the late Cretaceous period around 70 million years ago.
2. This means it is a theropod, and had strong hind legs to walk and run on.
3. It was first discovered in 1995 by Wayne Marshall , in Alberta, Canada. It was found in the Horseshoe Canyon formation.
4. Very few fossils have been found to date. The main one is of a skull with teeth. You can see the actual fossil here. Some recent discoveries have been discovered in Hells Creek, Montana as well.
4. Atrociraptor is estimated to be a small dinosaur, maybe even smaller than velociraptor and measuring around 2 meters (6.5 ft) long and weighing about 15 -20 kg (44 lbs).
5. As a member of the raptor family it would have had a long, curved claw on each second toe which was probably used for hunting or self-defense.
6. SImilar Its arms are likely to have been relatively long and slender, and ended in three-fingered hands.
7. The Atrociraptor would have had keen eyesight and a great sense of smell and its brain was relatively large for its body size, compared to other dinosaurs, indicating that it was intelligent.
8. It would be bipedal and had long, powerful legs that were ideal for running and jumping.
9. Like other dromaeosaurids and raptors the Atrociraptor would have had feathers, and these dinosaurs are the closest members to archaeopteryx and modern day birds.
10. The Atrociraptor was first brought to the screen in Jurassic World -Dominion, where it was portrayed as a vicious, bloodthirsty predator. As the Producer and director said Where the Velociraptor is a little bit more of a stealth hunter, the Atrociraptors are a bit more brutish,” Trevorrow explains in Empire magazine.
11.. Whatever the case may be, there is no doubt that the Atrociraptor was a fearsome predator and would have been a formidable opponent for any animal unlucky enough to cross its path.
12 like other similar raptor species it is very likely to have had feathers, though not the ability to fly. .In the movie – Jurassic World- dominion it was shown without feathers,, It is also more than twice the size they would have been in real life so quite a lot of artistic license was taken with their appearance.
13 It was certainly a carnivore, although only a head has been found the teeth, which are very serrated, are designed of picking and cutting meat. NOT for chewing on leaves!
Printable Dinosaur Coloring Pages
14. The skull was short and tall, unusually so for a raptor, and more, like a dinosaur bulldog!
15. It lived it what is now Canada and was found near the city of Alberta
16. Atrociraptor means “savage thief” and it certainly looked savage. The name was given by Philip J. Currie and David Varricchio in 2004 , and the full name is Atrociraptor Marshalli in honor of the man who found it. (Wayne Marshall)
17. Although we don’t know the exact reason, we cant help but think the name of “Savage Thief” may be one reason it was included in the film, maybe as bodyguard or a dinosaur guard dog!
18 Like other members of the dinosaur family ( dromaeosaurid) it would have laid eggs. this method of having babies is called (oviparous and means lays eggs! )
19. You pronounce Atrociraptor like this Ah-tross -ee – rap – tor. It has 5 syllables
Ah-tross -ee – rap – tor.
20. Judging from the short stout head it has been said this may have been a stocky, well built version of velociraptor perhaps less fast but more powerful with a bigger bite.
21. It was much smaller than the largest raptor found so far. The Utahraptor was three times bigger than atrociraptor at 6 meters or almost 20 feet long!
22 It name does NOT mean atrocious (bad) hunter. With those teeth and powerful jaws Atrociraptor would have been an excellent hunter! Its short head may have even given them a stronger bite!
23. Their teeth also had differences from other raptor teeth, they had larger serrations, and stuck out from their mouth at an angle ( not like 180 degrees or anything as that would make them funny looking not scary! ) so they would bite differently to other raptors. However if a raptor is biting you i dont think it would matter where there teeth are its still going to hurt.
24 From the photo of the holotype (the main fossil) the Atrociraptor teeth are about 1.5 to 2 inches long and similar in appearance and shape. They also had larger serrations (grooves on the side) so it might have preyed on dinosaurs with tougher skin than other raptors.
Conclusion
Atrociraptor is a pretty new dinosaur to science and to the public, as it has been overshadowed by its more famous relative the velociraptor. Now, with its appearance in Jurassic World as a savage hunter it is getting its moment in the spotlight. There may be some differences with what acriraptor looked like for real and in the movie ( but it is just a movie! )
Whatever it looked like its raptor roots made atrociraptor a fearsome predator and definitely worth studying in more detail.
Some of My Dinosaur Resource Recommendations for Home and School.
Thanks for taking the time to read our facts and questions articles, as a teacher myself i have struggled to find resources in one place and that is why this website was born. I simply love teaching students about dinosaurs both in my role as a language and General Studies teacher. However there is sometimes a need for something more concrete than a printout (as useful as we think ours are! )
There is something awesome about the feeling of awe that these amazing creatures instil in our children and students. To further help you, and potentially me, i have included a few resources below that i have found to be incredibly successful when explaining dinosaurs to children, these range form books and resources, to toys fossils and dinosaur figures.
Sometimes having something tactile to touch in those tiny hands help to focus and cement learning and develop those big brains! Hope they are helpful too.
Dinosaur Books and Readers
There are of course hundreds of excellent, and not so excellent books on Dinosaurs for Children out there. So rather than, yet, go into huge detail. I will highlight the ones I love to use with my students from ages 6 to 10. We have include AR in these as well. ( nothing quite like a moving dinosaur in front of you!
Fossil Sets
I cant say how great these are to use in a classroom while reading with a group. the chance to read about a dinosaur and then touch a real piece is simply great. I have a selection ( self confessed dinosaur geek) but a cheap set of 10 or so will do the trick just as well. Dinosaur poop is great as well!!! i pass it round and ask them to guess what it is first!
Dinosaur Figures
I actually use realia in a lot of classes especially with animals and dinosaurs, and figures help to show the kind of animal we are reading about. It is possible to spend hundreds of dollars on dinosaur figures but there is no need, either as a teacher or a parent. The set below and similar we have used to help students picture dinosaurs to great effect.
References
references
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrociraptor
http://www.dinosaur-world.com/feathered_dinosaurs/atrociraptor_marshalli.htm
Hi, I am Roy Ford a General Studies and English Teacher who has taught all over the world. What started as a fossil collection became a great way to teach, motivate and inspire students of all ages and all over the world about dinosaurs and from that and children’s love of dinosaurs came the site dinosaur facts for kids, a resource for all ages.
