Velociraptor - Provenance

Provenance

All known specimens of Velociraptor mongoliensis were discovered in the Djadochta Formation (also spelled Djadokhta), in the Mongolian province of Ömnögovi. Species of Velociraptor, have also been reported from the slightly younger Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia, though these are indeterminate and may belong to a related genus instead. These geologic formations are estimated to date back to the Campanian stage (between 83 and 70 million years ago) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch.

V. mongoliensis has been found at many of the most famous and prolific Djadochta localities. The type specimen was discovered at the Flaming Cliffs site (also known as Bayn Dzak and Shabarakh Usu), while the "Fighting Dinosaurs" were found at the Tugrig locality (also known as Tugrugeen Shireh). The well-known Barun Goyot localities of Khulsan and Khermeen Tsav have also produced remains which may belong to Velociraptor or a related genus. Teeth and partial remains attributed to juvenile V. mongoliensis have also been reported from the Bayan Mandahu Formation, a prolific site in Inner Mongolia, China that is contemporaneous with the Djadochta Formation. However, these fossils had not been prepared or studied as of 2008. A partial adult skull from the Bayan Mandahu Formation has been assigned to a distinct species, Velociraptor osmolskae.