Labels:text | font | paper | document OCR: Velociraptor ("quick plunderer") was a ferocious, carnivorous (flesh-eating) theropod ("beast-footed" dinosaur) with a relatively large brain, powerful jaws, serrated fangs, and large claws. The first Velociraptor skeleton was found in the Gobi Desert in Asia in 1923. It was a close relative of Deinonychus and, like all members of the dromaeosaurid ("running lizard") family, it was armed with a fearsome, retractable, sicklelike claw on its second toe. As the legs possessed powerful muscles, this enormous claw would have been Velociraptor's primary weapon, which it used to rake open its prey's belly. Velociraptor can be distinguished from other family members by its very low and narrow head. FOSSILIZED COMBAT An amazing find in Mongolia in the 1970s showed this ferocious predator in action. A well-preserved and almost complete skeleton of Velociraptor was discovered clutching the skull of another dinosaur, Protoceratops, with its front limbs. Most probably, Velociraptor had used its clawed feet to rip the belly of Protoceratops, which had fought back and caved in the chest of Velociraptor with its horny beak, before it too died. This find was particularly exciting because it showed clear evidence of a carnivorous dinosaur attack.
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