From the Late Cretaceous period comes everyone's favorite killing machine, the velociraptor. Its name is Latin for "rapid robber" which upholds its warm blooded metabolism. This species of dinosaur is very closely related to the modern bird.
This picture, although cool as all get out, is inaccurate. A velociraptor's "hands" would actually be oriented "palm-in". (Like he wants to give you a hug.) This is a popular misconception thanks to Jurassic Park. The other BIG misconception is their size. The velociraptor was actually only about six feet long from head to tail and about two feet tall at the hip. The weighed about 45 pounds.
So why do these extinct bad boys make my heart go pitter-pat? Well, first off they look as bad as heck. I especially like the reverse articulated toe with the dagger sized claw. Second, they're no t-rex. That guy had a couple of useless arms and probably didn't do its own killing. (Seriously, there are paleontologists that think the tyrannosaurus was a scavenger. Big evidence: nasal passages. Look it up!) Velociraptor has been found preserved in a death match with another dino. Its super-cool claw slashing the other's throat. HARD CORE! Way cooler than t-rex! Lastly, you could so keep one as a pet. It'd be about the size of a labrador and a much better theft deterrent.
To conclude my love letter to a 70 million year dead species, "Stay cool VP, stay cool."
4 comments:
I still make that screechy nasaly raptor noise all time, and I laugh because we used to do that. Its pretty hilarious.
Yeah, raptors are awesome.
Word.
word up dog
Whoa. Way to dig. This is an old post. (Ha ha. I said dig in reference to a dinosaur.)
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