Category:Velociraptors

Velociraptor is a genus of dinosaur which was popularized by its appearance in the Jurassic Park film series. In the films, velociraptors are depicted as small (shorter than adult humans) bi-pedal scaled dinsaurs which frequently attacked and killed humans. They were one of the main antagonists in the films. The reference source used by the author of the original novel was somewhat outdated, and the dinosaurs as written and thereafter depicted in the film have some discrepancies with the size and appearance of the velociraptors. For example, scientists have since discovered that velociraptors were likely feathered.

Jurassic Park could have been a scary film for children, and the film appears to have had a strong impact on Randall Munroe. Velociraptors in particular, and the irrational fear of being attacked by them in the modern world, are a subject of (or appear in) several strips of xkcd.

Sonty Mick posits, perhaps facetiously, that velociraptors in xkcd symbolize God.

The last comic mentioning velociraptors was released approaching ten years ago, so perhaps Randall has decided to drop velociraptors as a recurring trope for the comic.

See also: Velociraptor