Finding Something in Not Much

©Michael B H

The fossil remains of the type specimen of Atrociraptor has very little material. The material that is present is a mandible and the anterior half of snout of the dinosaur. What skull there is depicts an animal that is short lengthwise and tall in height in its head. Large serrations of the teeth and their emergence at an angle to the jawline means that Atrociraptor had a rather vicious bite that could certainly inflict mortal damage. The short snout and tall skull were most likely strongly muscled as well. The skull, then, was a rather efficient and violent weapon. It was the kind of damage that earned a name and fed a small but voracious predator during the Late Cretaceous.