Velociraptor, the terrifying predator made famous in the movie “Jurassic Park,” appears to have had feathers in real life, scientists say.A close study of a velociraptor forearm found in Mongolia shows the presence of quill knobs-bumps on the bone where the feathers anchor-researchers reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science.Dinosaurs are believed to be ancestors to modern birds. Evidence of feathered dinosaurs has been found in recent years, and now velociraptor can be added to the list.“Finding quill knobs on velociraptor … means that it definitely had feathers. This is something we'd long suspected, but no one had been able to prove,” Alan Turner, the lead author of the study, said in a statement.The velociraptor the researchers studied as about one meter tall and weighed less than 15 kilograms. The size of velociraptors was exaggerated in the movie.Velociraptors had short forelimbs, compared to a modern bird, the researchers said, indicating it would not have been able to fly, even though it had feathers. The feathers may have been useful for display, to shield nests, for temperature control, or to help it maneuver while running, they said.
