Vectiraptor

{{Short description|Dromaeosaurid dinosaur genus from Early Cretaceous England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = [[Barremian]], {{fossilrange| 125}} | image = Vectiraptor Camellae by Nick Longrich.jpg | image_caption = Camellate pneumaticity inside the dorsal vertebrae of ''Vectiraptor greeni'' | parent_authority = Longrich, Martill & Jacobs, [[2021 in paleontology|2021]] | taxon = Vectiraptor greeni | authority = Longrich, Martill and Jacobs, 2021 }} '''''Vectiraptor''''' (meaning "[[Isle of Wight]] thief") is a [[genus]] of [[dromaeosaurid]] [[dinosaur]] from the [[Barremian]] aged [[Wessex Formation]] of the [[United Kingdom]]. The type and only species is '''''Vectiraptor greeni''''', known from associated [[dorsal vertebrae]] and a partial [[sacrum]].<ref name="Longrich">{{Cite journal|last1=Longrich|first1=Nicholas R.|last2=Martill|first2=David M.|last3=Jacobs|first3=Megan L.|date=2021-12-17|title=A new dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Wessex Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, and implications for European palaeobiogeography|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667121003712|journal=Cretaceous Research|volume=134 |language=en|article-number=105123|doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105123|bibcode=2022CrRes.13405123L |s2cid=245324247|issn=0195-6671|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Discovery and naming == [[File:Vectiraptor site 2.jpg|thumb|left|Wessex Formation outcrops at Compton Bay, Isle of Wight, where the holotype was discovered.]] ''Vectiraptor'' was initially discovered by amateur paleontologist Mick Green in 2004 in rocks of the [[Wessex Formation]], below the cliffs of Compton Bay on the [[Isle of Wight]], United Kingdom. The finds form the [[holotype]] '''IWCMS. 2021.31.1-3''', consisting of two [[dorsal vertebra]]e. Later a partial [[sacrum]] of three vertebrae, IWCMS. 2021.31.2, would be discovered by the late Nick Chase. The element has been determined to belong to the holotype as all fossil elements were discovered over a short time period, and each find was located within several metres of the others. The holotype represents an adult individual, the age of which was estimated at twenty to thirty years on the basis of growth lines in the bone cortex. The vertebrae were donated to the collection of the Isle of Wight County Museum Service.<ref name="Longrich"/>

The [[type species]] ''Vectiraptor greeni'', would be erected by Nicholas Longrich, David Michael Martill and Megan Jacobs in 2021. The generic name, ''Vectiraptor'', combines the [[Latin]] words ''Vectis'', meaning "the Isle of Wight," and ''raptor'' meaning "thief". The specific name, ''greeni'', is in honour of Mick Green who initially discovered and prepared the [[type material]].<ref name="Longrich"/>

Of large and wide dromaeosaurid teeth previously reported from Wight, such as the specimens IWCMS.2002.1, IWCMS.2002.3, IWCMS.2002.4 and BMNH R 16510,<ref>Sweetman, S.C., 2004. "The first record of velociraptorine dinosaurs (Saurischia, Theropoda) from the Wealden (Early Cretaceous, Barremian) of southern England". ''Cretaceous Research'' '''25''': 353-364</ref> the describing authors considered it likely that they in fact belonged to ''Vectiraptor'', though they were not formally referred.<ref name="Longrich"/>

The body length of ''Vectiraptor'' was estimated to be {{convert|2.5|-|3|m|ft}}.<ref name="Longrich"/>

The holotype includes two partial dorsal vertebrae and parts of the sacrum. Although fragmentary, the material shows a combination of features found only in the [[Dromaeosauridae]], including relatively short and massive [[vertebrae]], tall [[neural spines]], and facets for the [[ribs]] set on long stalks.<ref name="Longrich"/>

Two [[autapomorphies]], or unique derived traits, were established. With the front vertebrae of the back, the usual deep triangular depression at the underside of the side process is subdivided by an extra ridge. The [[neural spine]]s are robust with wide rough depressions for the attachment of ligaments.<ref name="Longrich"/>

The vertebrae showed extensive pneumatisation. The dorsals had pleurocoels through which the air sacs of the respiratory system entered the vertebral bodies, forming large camellate air spaces. The diapophysal fossa also invaded the neural arch. The neural canals were expanded to behind, embaying the top of the centrum. The sacral vertebrae lacked pleurocoels and had a spongy bone structure. Their combined neural canal was so wide however, that it might have contained an air chamber, accessed by spaces between their partially fused neural arches.<ref name="Longrich"/>

==Phylogeny== A number of features, including the animal's large size, short dorsals, the presence of openings in the posterior dorsal vertebrae for [[air sacs]], and the tall and narrow in side view neural spines with ligament scars, suggest the animal is a member of, or related to, the [[Eudromaeosauria]]. The resemblance to eudromaeosaurs from North America suggests a faunal exchange between North America and Europe.<ref name="Longrich"/>

== References == {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Eudromaeosauria]] [[Category:Dinosaur genera]] [[Category:Barremian dinosaurs]] [[Category:Wessex Formation]] [[Category:Taxa named by Nicholas R. Longrich]] [[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2021]] [[Category:Dinosaurs of the United Kingdom]]