In Depth
First described in 2021, Vectiraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now England during the early Cretaceous. Although only described from a very few bones, analysis of these have yielded the conclusion that Vectiraptor was probably a member of the Eudromaeosauria sub group of the Dromaeosauridae. We would then expect the living Vectiraptor to look something similar to other eudromaeosaurian dinosaurs, such as the famous Deinonychus from North America. This may also indicate that faunal interchanges between North America and Europe that seem to have been common in the Jurassic were still proceeding at least into the early Cretaceous (It is worth remembering that the Atlantic Ocean at that time was much smaller than it is today). Analysis of growth patterns on the fossil bones indicates that the individual that became the holotype of Vectiraptor was somewhere between twenty and thirty years old at the time of death.
The literal translation of Vectiraptor to English means ‘Vectis thief’. The Vectis part of this is Latin and is an old name for the Isle of Wight, an island off the southern coast of England.Further reading
- A new dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, and implications for European palaeobiogeography. - Cretaceous Research: 105123. - Nicholas R. Longrich, David M. Martill & Megan L. Jacobs - 2021.
