Jurassic Park: Scientific Prophecy or Lucky Guess?

If you’ve ever watched the movie or read the novel Jurassic Park, then no doubt you’ve had at least one nightmare of being attacked by a Velociraptor. It is nothing to be ashamed about, it really has happened to us all. What’s worse though – worse even than attacking Velociraptor’s – is the fact that the Michael Crichton might not have been too far off the mark.

Of course, to be accurate, a Velociraptor is nothing more than a predatory turkey. A member of the Dromaeosauridae of dinosaurs, it was a bird-like theropod dinosaur, which flourished during the Cretaceous Period.

However, there was a larger member of the Dromaeosauridae family, the Utahraptor, which stood at 20 feet tall. With remains found in Utah, this dinosaur was more in line with the Jurassic Park stereotype, and of the same family as well.

Another prediction-like aspect of the book/movie was the way that the Velociraptor’s hunted in packs. There has been no proof of such behavior of these dinosaurs, until now.

Rihui Li of the Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology in China has found tracks, in the Shandong Province, China, that strongly suggests that there were six Dromaeosaurs together in a pack. According to the information being gathered from the rock-surface, there is very little time between the foot-prints being made and being covered over.

"This strongly indicates that the track makers were there at the same time – moving as a group," says Martin Lockley of the Dinosaur Tracks Museum at the University of Colorado at Denver, US, and co-author of a report on the prints.

Another aspect of this discovery that has once again proven the craftsman behind the Jurassic Park dinosaurs correct is that of the third claw. In the movie, the Velociraptor had evolved to hold its third claw up off the ground so it wouldn’t wear. There has so far been no archaeological evidence to support such an idea, until now.

The markings found made in the rock show 28 centimeters long and 12 cm wide, each with two long toes but only a stub of the toe which would have bore the long third claw. This indicates that the animal did indeed hold its claw off the ground.

These tracks also provide a non-Jurassic Park discovery, that there were indeed larger dinosaurs – larger being at least 1 to 2 meters tall – in Asia at that time. There had previously been no record of such.

Lastly, for all those still un-convinced that the Velociraptor has left us completely, you’ll want to head along to the American Society for Velociraptor Attack Prevention. They provide news, tips for new home buyers, and invaluable information on the animals.

Posted by Josh Hill.