A Hunter in the Dense Leaves

About this drawing

A jungle velociraptor makes for a dramatic image, but the science tells a different story. Fossils of this hunter come mainly from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and northern China, and the rocks that hold them show the region was already dry about 75 million years ago. It was a land of dunes, seasonal streams and scattered oases.

In that setting, the sand itself was the real danger. Many fossils from the area lie in strikingly lifelike poses, since they were buried in an instant by collapsing dunes or violent sandstorms. Nothing had time to disturb the bodies, and that is why the skeletons are in such great shape.

Dromaeosaurs, the family that includes velociraptor, did live in forests elsewhere. In northeast China, layers of volcanic ash preserved its relatives among ancient lakes and trees, with feathers in stunning detail. Some of those cousins were tiny, with four wings, and could glide from branch to branch.

Back in the Gobi, a velociraptor shared the landscape with Protoceratops, oviraptors and small mammals, and it had to work to find food and water. It didn't always hunt, either. One Protoceratops bone carries velociraptor tooth marks that suggest scavenging. In short, think less Amazon rainforest and more Death Valley with a few water holes.

• dinosaurs
• velociraptor
• jungle
• adult coloring