Velociraptor

Dinosaur speed estimates come from tracks, bones, muscle models, and biomechanics. This guide explains what scientists can and cannot know.

The Velociraptor in Jurassic Park stands 1.8 meters tall, hunts in coordinated packs, and opens doors. The actual animal was the size of a turkey, covered in feathers, and probably hunted alone. Almost nothing about cinema's most famous raptor matches the fossil record — yet the real animal is, in its own way, more interesting than the fiction.