Velociraptor

Here's the truth about Velociraptor that Jurassic Park never told you: it was about the size of a turkey. The terrifying man-sized raptors in the films are based on a different animal entirely — Deinonychus — scaled up for dramatic effect. The real Velociraptor stood roughly half a meter tall at the hip and weighed around 20 kilograms.

But don't let the small size fool you. Velociraptor was a sophisticated predator. Its famous sickle-shaped claw on each foot was held retracted off the ground during walking — like a cat keeping its claws sharp — and used to pin and slash prey. Evidence suggests it may have hunted animals larger than itself.

One of the most famous fossils ever found is the 'Fighting Dinosaurs' specimen from Mongolia: a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops locked in combat, buried together in a sudden sandstorm or collapsing sand dune. The Velociraptor's sickle claw is embedded in the Protoceratops's neck.

Critically, Velociraptor had feathers. Quill knobs — the same attachment points seen on modern birds — have been found on Velociraptor arm bones, confirming it was feathered. It looked far more like a large ground bird than the scaly reptiles depicted in popular culture.