History Main / RaptorAttack

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/AceVentura: Pet Detective'' TheAnimatedSeries had the eponymous detective go into a cage inhabited by a velociraptor the size of a small bear.

In any case, it's worthy to note that there is very little difference between the body plans of ''Archaeopteryx'', troodontids, dromaeosaurids and a number of other (relatively) small birdy things in that part of the family tree. Much like modern birds of prey, size and potential color patterns aside, the average person would probably have little luck telling them apart in life, even before they tried to claw your eyes out for being too close to their nest.

* Raptors are present in ''Literature/JurassicPark1990'', where they are specifically called ''Velociraptor antirrhopus'' on several occasions, with Dr. Grant at one point telling Tim that "''Deinonychus'' is now one of the velociraptors'", and in another scene mentions how "''Velociraptor''" preyed on ''Tenontosaurus'' (meaning ''Deinonychus''). There is one newly hatched raptor chick that the [=InGen=] scientists identify as ''Velociraptor mongoliensis'' but it might be a distinct species, or the scientists accidentally misidentified it (since they aren't paleontologists and at another point call "coelurosaurus" herbivores, even though coelurosaurs are small carnivores).

* Raptors are present in ''Literature/JurassicPark1990'', where they are specifically called ''Velociraptor antirrhopus'' on several occasions, with Dr. Grant at one point telling Tim that "''Deinonychus'' is now one of the velociraptors'", and in another scene mentions how "''Velociraptor''" preyed on ''Tenontosaurus'' (meaning ''Deinonychus''). There is one newly hatched raptor chick that the InGen scientists identify as ''Velociraptor mongoliensis'' but it might be a distinct species, or the scientists accidentally misidentified it (since they aren't paleontologists and at another point call "coelurosaurus" herbivores, even though coelurosaurs are small carnivores).

* Raptors are present in ''Literature/JurassicPark1990'', just as they are in the movie. Here, though, they are explicitly referred to as ''Velociraptor mongoliensis'' and stated to come from China, which means that, unlike in the movies, they are not misnamed ''Deinonychus.'' They are still, however, the same size as their film counterparts. There are a couple possibilities for why this might have been done. Creator/MichaelCrichton is known to have relied on Gregory S. Paul's 1988 book ''Predatory Dinosaurs of the World'', as a resource, and this book puts forth the (since debunked) notion that ''Deinonychus'' is a synonym of the much smaller ''Velociraptor''. Hence, Crichton may have decided to increase the raptors' size to that of ''Deinonychus'' due to conflating the two. He many also have been influenced by Paul's mention in his book of a toe bone from a big Asian raptor, which he considered to be a species of ''Velociraptor''. In 1989, a full skeleton of this raptor-- or at least, possibly same species the toe bone belonged to-- was found dating back to roughly the same place and time, and in 2000 it was named ''Achillobator''.

ScienceMarchesOn has further complicated things. At the time Creator/MichaelCrichton wrote ''Jurassic Park'', the dromaeosaurid subfamily Velociraptorinae was classified as a large collection of species resembling its namesake member, which included ''Deinonychus''. Thus this species ''was'' at the time considered to technically be a ''velociraptorine''. More importantly, the book ''Literature/PredatoryDinosaursOfTheWorld'' by Gregory S. Paul (which Crichton used as a major reference) controversially classified ''Deinonychus antirrhopus'' as a species of ''Velociraptor''. RuleOfCool dictated Crichton use the name that sounded more dramatic and could be shortened to [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "raptor"]], even though no other expert agreed with Paul's classification.

ScienceMarchesOn has further complicated things. At the time Creator/MichaelCrichton wrote ''Jurassic Park'', the dromaeosaurid subfamily Velociraptorinae was classified as a large collection of species resembling its namesake member, which included ''Deinonychus''. Thus this species ''was'' at the time considered to technically be a ''velociraptor'''ine''. More importantly, the book ''Literature/PredatoryDinosaursOfTheWorld'' by Gregory S. Paul (which Crichton used as a major reference) controversially classified ''Deinonychus antirrhopus'' as a species of ''Velociraptor''. RuleOfCool dictated Crichton use the name that sounded more dramatic and could be shortened to [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "raptor"]], even though no other expert agreed with Paul's classification.

ScienceMarchesOn has further complicated things. At the time Creator/MichaelCrichton wrote ''Jurassic Park'', the dromaeosaurid subfamily Velociraptorinae was classified as a large collection of species resembling its namesake member, which included ''Deinonychus''. Thus this species ''was'' at the time considered to technically be a ''velociraptor'''ine,'''and more importantly, the book ''Literature/PredatoryDinosaursOfTheWorld'' by Gregory S. Paul (which Crichton used as a major reference) controversially classified ''Deinonychus antirrhopus'' as a species of ''Velociraptor''. RuleOfCool dictated Crichton use the name that sounded more dramatic and could be shortened to [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "raptor"]], even though no other expert agreed with Paul's classification.

ScienceMarchesOn has further complicated things. At the time Creator/MichaelCrichton wrote ''Jurassic Park'', the dromaeosaurid subfamily Velociraptorinae was classified as a large collection of species resembling its namesake member, which included ''Deinonychus''. Thus this species ''was'' at the time considered to technically be a ''velociraptor'''ine,''' '' [[note]]Including in reference books such as Gregory Paul's ''Predatory Dinosaurs of the World'', which was a major reference source for Michael Crichton while writing ''Jurassic Park,''[[/note]] and the RuleOfCool dictated Crichton use the name that could be shortened to [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "raptor"]].

This is no longer the case, however, thanks to some shuffling of classifications. ''Deinonychus'' is no longer a velociraptorine. There are analyses that suggest troodontids and dromaeosaurids were not close relatives at all, and/or that some groups traditionally considered to be dromaeosaurids were not, instead being closer to modern birds (although others maintain the traditional view). Some recent analyses also suggest that the so-called "first bird" ''Archaeopteryx'' may either be a deinonychosaur as well (in other words, closer to ''Velociraptor'' than to modern birds), or farther from modern birds than deinonychosaurs are. This has even led to speculation that traditional dromaeosaurids may have had ancestors who ''became'' flightless. And in a final hilarious twist, there is still no universal agreement on where ''Deinonychus'' fits in the raptor's TangledFamilyTree.

* Issue 3 of the ''ComicBook/DarkwingDuck'' comics by Joe Books has Bushroot and Dr. Fossil being attacked by their newly-created plant-''Velociraptor'' hybrids, kept small due to being given only a single drop of water. Gosalyn then sprays the raptors with a fire hose, [[OhCrap making them grow into giants]]. The plant-raptors noticeably have leafy feathers, although their arms are left bare.