Velociraptor vs T. rex: Real Sizes and the Movie Myth
Films made Velociraptor look like a scaly hunter as tall as a person. The real animal was about the size of a turkey, covered in feathers, and lived in Mongolia millions of years before T. rex. Here they are at their true sizes.
Velociraptor
About 2 m long with its tail and around 15 kg. Fast, feathered, with a sickle claw.
Velociraptor vs T. rex: true size
Velociraptor vs T. rex at a glance
| Velociraptor | T. rex | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | About 2 m long with its tail, about 0.5 m tall at the hip | About 12 m long, about 4 m tall at the hip |
| Weight | Around 15 kg | Around 8 tonnes, roughly 500 times heavier |
| Lived | About 75 to 71 million years ago | About 68 to 66 million years ago |
| Where | Mongolia and China | Western North America |
| Covering | Feathers, with quill knobs on its arm bones | Mostly scaly skin as an adult |
| Main weapon | A curved sickle claw on each foot, about 6.5 cm | A huge bite with teeth up to about 30 cm including the root |
| Prey | Small animals | Big plant-eaters such as Triceratops |
The movie raptor is not Velociraptor
The raptors in Jurassic Park were based on bigger relatives such as Deinonychus, then made even larger. The real Velociraptor came up to about your knee. Fossils of its arm bones show bumps where large feathers were attached, so it looked more like a fierce bird than a lizard.
Could they have met?
No. Velociraptor lived in what is now Mongolia, around 75 to 71 million years ago. T. rex lived in North America at the very end of the age of dinosaurs. Even if they had met, a Velociraptor would have been a snack for a T. rex.
Quick facts
- A famous fossil from Mongolia shows a Velociraptor locked in a fight with a Protoceratops, both buried together.
- Velociraptor means swift thief.
- Its sickle claw was probably used to pin down small prey, rather than to slash big animals open.
- T. rex had one of the strongest bites of any land animal ever.
- Both were theropods, the group of dinosaurs that birds come from.
Look inside both
Velociraptor vs T. rex questions
How big was a real Velociraptor?
About 2 m long including its long tail, about 0.5 m tall at the hip and around 15 kg, roughly the size of a turkey.
Did Velociraptor have feathers?
Yes. Its arm bones have quill knobs, the bumps where big feathers attach in birds today.
Did Velociraptor and T. rex live together?
No. Velociraptor lived in Mongolia about 75 to 71 million years ago. T. rex lived in North America about 68 to 66 million years ago.
Who would win, Velociraptor or T. rex?
T. rex, easily. It was about 500 times heavier.
Why are the raptors in Jurassic Park so big?
The film makers based them on larger relatives such as Deinonychus and made them bigger still for the screen.
More face-offs: see all 3D comparisons.
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