Meaning
Vectis Thief
Length
2.5 – 3 metres (9 feet)
Classification
Theropoda,
Dromaeosauridae Matthew and Brown 1922
Eudromaeosauria Longrich and Currie 2009
Vectiraptor greeni, Longrich, Martill and Jacobs 2021
A medium sized dromaeosaur theropod, Vectiraptor would have hunted small mammals and smaller dinosaurs, such as Hypsilophodon. it is unlikely to have been a regular pack hunter, although in times of famine it may have grouped together with other dinosaurs to take down larger prey. It almost certainly had feathers.
Vectiraptor can be identified by it’s dorsal vertebrae, which feature deep, triangular infradiapophyseal fossae, divided by accessory lamina in anterior dorsals, deep infrapostzygapophyseal fossae. There is extensive pneumatization of vertebral column including dorsal centra, with small pleurocoels anteriorly, large, elliptical pleurocoels posteriorly, and camellate internal architecture; massive neural spines with broad ligament scars. The dorsal vertebrae have large neural canals. The sacrum has a massive neural canal, with a ventral groove that does not extend the full length of the sacrum, and the sacral centra are not pneumatized.
LONGRICH, N. R.; MARTILL, D. M.; JACOBS, M L. 2021. “A new dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, and implications for European palaeobiogeography”.Cretaceous Research: 105123. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105123