Vectiraptor

Say it like this: “VEC-tee-RAP-tuh”

Vectiraptor greeni

Vectiraptor ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.

Quiz me on Vectiraptor

When: Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Named in: 2022 · Longrich, N. R.; Martill, D. M.; Jacobs, M. L.
Hip height: 0.8 m · 3 ft
Length: 2.5–3 m · 8–10 ft
Weight: 90 kg · 198 lb
Found in: the United Kingdom · Wessex
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Eudromaeosauria

The story in short

In 2022, N. R. Longrich and colleagues published the name Vectiraptor. The name means “isle of Wight.”

It lived in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Wessex Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Vectiraptor at a length near 2.5–3 m, hips about 0.8 m high, and a body mass around 90 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Eudromaeosauria, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Acheroraptor

Acheroraptor temertyorum

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago

Bambiraptor

Bambiraptor feinbergi

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Boreonykus

Boreonykus certekorum

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago