Thirty years ago, Steven Speilberg’s Jurassic Park movie hit the big screens.
The movie adaption of Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name has been one of the biggest cultural phenomena that cuts across both movies and scientific circles.
The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World trilogies have done a good job of bringing some of the most renowned prehistoric animals to the big screen in the most life-like form possible.
This has contributed to the popularity of these animals with the general public.
In this article, we’ll list all the dinosaurs and other incredible prehistoric animals that have been featured in the Jurassic Park movies.
Dinosaurs
Allosaurus
| Name | Allosaurus |
| Movie featured | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) & Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | Portugal, Utah, Germany, Nebraska |
It’s common knowledge that many of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park movies didn’t actually live during the Jurassic Period.
However, a few of them, like the Allosaurus, were real Jurassic Period animals.
In fact, Allosaurus was one of the most common theropod dinosaurs of the Jurassic Period and was an apex predator at the time.
The carnivore made a brief cameo as one of the toys being sold on the streets of Jurassic World in the 2015 Jurassic World movie.
Then, in 2015’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Allosaurus made its first actual appearance on screen.
As one of the dinosaurs abandoned on Isla Nublar in 2015, some Allosaurus individuals were pictured in a scene escaping from an erupting volcano on the Island.
Some of the surviving Allosaurus from this scene were captured and auctioned off at Lockwood Manor.
Four juveniles were released into the wilds of California, and one of them had a repeat appearance in the 2022 installment of the franchise.
Ankylosaurus
| Name | Allosaurus |
| Movie Featured | Jurassic Park III (2001), Jurassic World (2015), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | Portugal, Utah, Germany, Nebraska |
Ankylosaurus was a heavily armored North American dinosaur with a clubbed tail.
This dinosaur has been a regular character in the Jurassic World movies since its first cameo in Jurassic Park III.
A herd of Ankylosaurus was featured in a scene in Jurassic World where one of the stampeding animals was killed by an Indominus rex after a failed attempt to ward off the predator with its clubbed tail.
Several Ankylosaurus were also in the famous volcano scene from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and subsequently as one of the dinosaurs that escaped from the Lockwood Manor Estate after the failed auction.
Apatosaurus
| Name | Apatosaurus |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World (2015), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Sauropoda |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | USA & Canada (North America) |
Apatosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs in Late Jurassic North America.
This long-necked sauropod has been featured in all three Jurassic World movies from 2015.
In the first movie, a herd of Apatosaurus is seen alongside other herbivores in the Gyrosphere Valley.
Later on, these dinosaurs were attacked by an Indominus rex, and up to five of them were injured in the rampage that followed.
In Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom, a herd of Apatosaurus was once again featured in a stampede scene.
This time, the herd was running away from an erupting volcano on Isla Nublar.
Some of these dinosaurs were captured and were among the dinosaurs that escaped into the wild at the end of the movie.
The last film featured some of these individuals living in the wild.
Atrociraptor
| Name | Atrociraptor |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic — Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | Canada (North America) |
The Atrociraptor is one of the more recent additions to the repertoire of dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park movies, having been featured in 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion.
This dromaeosaurid dinosaur lived during the Cretaceous.
In real life, the Atrociraptor was a feathered dinosaur roughly the same size as the velociraptor.
It was about two meters (6.6 feet) long and weighed about 15 kilograms (33 pounds).
Like other dinosaurs of the Jurassic World franchise, the on-screen version of this carnivorous dinosaur was greatly exaggerated, with a mass of up to 500 pounds.
In the movie, the Atrociraptor species were bred from velociraptor DNA and depicted as social animals.
The pack featured in the movie had four individuals named Ghost, Tiger, Red, and Panthera.\
Baryonyx
| Name | Baryonyx |
| Movie featured | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Early Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous (Piscivorous) |
| Location | England, Spain (Europe) |
Baryonyx has had cameos in the last two Jurassic World movies, although it has been mentioned in previous movies in the franchise.
In the first actual on-screen appearance of this dinosaur, it was featured during the volcano eruption scene on Isla Nublar.
Since it was a spinosaurid dinosaur, the real-life Baryonyx likely preyed on fish and other aquatic prey.
But in Jurassic World, the dinosaur attacked two humans, and they were only saved by the erupting volcano.
Three Baryonyx species were sold off at the Lockwood Manor Auction, and they were among the dinosaurs that escaped into the wild.
Baryonyx made appearances in the next movie as well, and one individual with a prosthetic left arm was kept in an illegal fighting ring where it faced off against an Allosaurus.
This Baryonyx was among the dinosaurs that mauled the poacher Rainn Delacourt in Jurassic World Dominion.
Brachiosaurus
| Name | Brachiosaurus |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic Park (1993), Jurassic Park III (2001), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Sauropoda |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | USA (North America) |
The Brachiosaurus is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs in real life and the Jurassic Park franchise.
It was one of the dinosaurs featured in the opening sequence of the first Jurassic Park movie during a tour of the park.
The large sauropod was also the first dinosaur to escape the enclosure when the park’s security system was disabled.
It has since made appearances in other movies in the franchise.
This includes brief sightings in Jurassic Park III, another brief cameo in Jurassic World, and one of the stampeding dinosaurs when Mt. Sibo erupted in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
This horned dinosaur is impossible to miss due to its distinctive appearance characterized by bull-like horns — a bizarre appearance for a meat-eating dinosaur.
Carnotaurus
| Name | Carnotaurus |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Pronunciation | kar-noh-TAWR-uhs |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | South America |
Although a large dinosaur in real life, the size of the Jurassic Park Carnotaurus was exaggerated significantly to further add to its intimidating appearance.
The version featured in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom had a length of 10.4 meters (34.10 feet) instead of its actual length of eight meters (26.2 feet).
This dinosaur was mentioned a few times in the early Jurassic Park movies but didn’t make a full appearance until the volcano eruption scene in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Carnotaurus showed aggressive behavior in this scene, attacking humans and fighting off a Sinoceraptor until it was eventually killed by Tyrannosaurus rex.
The DNA of the Carnotaurus was used in creating the hybrid Indominus rex.
Ceratosaurus
| Name | Ceratosaurus |
| Movies featured | Jurassic Park III (2001) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | North America (United States), Europe (Portugal) |
The Ceratosaurus was a bizarre-looking dinosaur with a distinctive horn on its nose.
This medium-sized dinosaur has been featured in only one movie in the Jurassic Park franchise.
In Jurassic Park III, Dr. Alan Grant and the Kirby family encountered a Ceratosaurus individual on a river bank while searching for a satellite phone in a Spinosaurus dung.
The terrified humans thought the dinosaur was going to attack them.
Interestingly, the Ceratosaurus walked away instead, apparently deterred by the smell of the Spinosaurus dung on their body.
Compsognathus
| Name | Compsognathus |
| Movies featured | The Lost World (1997), Jurassic Park III (2001), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | Germany, France (Europe) |
The Compsognathus was nicknamed “Compy” in the Jurassic Park movies.
The dinosaur was chicken-sized in real life and preyed mainly on lizards and other small animals.
But the Jurassic Park version were deadly little monsters that hunted in packs and could attack large prey.
Their first appearance was in The Lost World, the second Jurassic Park movie, where a pack of these small dinosaurs attacked a little girl (Cathy Bowman) after she fed one of them.
Later in the same movie, a pack of compies attacked Dietrich Stark, a member of the hunting party sent to Isla Sorna, and succeeded in killing him.
In Jurassic Park III, the compies were featured briefly in the Spinosaurus vs Tyrannosaurus scene where the smaller dinosaurs were seen scampering for safety.
Compsognathus also made a couple of brief cameos in the last Jurassic World movie.
Corythosaurus
| Name | Corythosaurus |
| Movies featured | Jurassic Park III (2001) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia, & Ornithopoda |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Location | United States of America, Canada (North America) |
This duck-billed dinosaur isn’t very popular in the Jurassic Park franchise.
It has only appeared once on-screen (in Jurassic Park III), but there have been a few other brief references to this dinosaur in other movies.
In Jurassic Park III, a herd of Corythosaurus was seen grazing alongside some Parasaurolophus individuals.
Their gentle grazing was interrupted by Dr Grant, Billy Brennan, Amanda, and Paul Kirby, who were being chased by a pack of Velociraptors.
This led to a stampede as the humans ran through the hadrosaurs’ herd.
Dilophosaurus
| Name | Dilophosaurus |
| Movies featured | Jurassic Park (1993), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Pronunciation | Die-loh-foh-SAWR-us |
| Era | Mesozoic – Early Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | North America (USA) |
The producers of the Jurassic Park movies had to modify the appearance of many of the dinosaurs in the movie.
The Dilophosaurus is probably one of the most modified dinosaurs in the franchise.
Not only was the on-screen version smaller than the real-life Dilophosaurus, but it also had many extra features, including a frill that could open up to intimidate an opponent.
The Dilophosaurus could also spit toxic venom to immobilize an attacker.
In the first Jurassic Park movie, the Dilophosaurus killed Dennis Nedry, one of the movie’s main antagonists, with this venomous spit.
In Jurassic World Dominion, three Dilophosaurus individuals also cornered and killed Lewis Dodgson in a similar way.
Dreadnoughtus
| Name | Dreadnoughtus |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Sauropoda |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | Argentina |
Despite being one of the largest dinosaurs to have ever lived, the Dreadnoughtus somehow managed to stay out of the Jurassic Park franchise until the most recent film.
It had a brief cameo in the prologue of Jurassic World Dominion in a throw-back scene to the Cretaceous.
Later in the movie, the dinosaur is bathing in a lake at the Biosyn Sanctuary in Italy.
The large sauropod was the largest animal in the sanctuary.
At least four Dreadnoughtus individuals escaped the forest fire at the Sanctuary at the end of the movie.
Gallimimus
| Name | Gallimimus |
| Movies featured | Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World (1997), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Omnivorous |
| Location | Mongolia |
The Gallimimus is among the most commonly featured dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park Franchise.
The dinosaur has been featured in all movies in the series except Jurassic Park III.
In the first Jurassic Park movie, a pack of these bird-like dinosaurs was chased by a T-rex, and one of them was killed by the dinosaur.
In The Lost World, the Gallimimus was one of the dinosaurs captured by the dinosaur hunters but was freed alongside the others the next day.
While the early appearances of the Gallimimus were closer in size to the real-life version, the subsequent appearances in the Jurassic World movies featured individuals that were bigger than previous versions.
Jurassic World Gallimimus also had teeth, while the real-life dinosaur was toothless.
Giganotosaurus
| Name | Giganotosaurus |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | North America |
Giganotosaurus is one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs, outranked only by the Spinosaurus.
Despite being slightly bigger than the T-rex, the Giganotosaurus has not enjoyed as much screen time as the North American theropod.
The first mention of this dinosaur was in Jurassic World, as one of the dinosaurs whose DNA was used to create the Indominus rex.
The Giganotosaurus finally got its much-anticipated screen time in Jurassic World Dominion, where it was featured as the main dinosaur antagonist in place of the more familiar T-rex in the previous installments.
The South American theropod did face off against the T-rex towards the end of the movie but was killed by Tyrannosaurus with the help of a Therizinosaurus.
Iguanodon
| Name | Iguanodon |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Early Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia & Ornithopoda |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | Europe |
This herbivorous dinosaur was one of the most popular dinosaurs in the early days of dinosaur research, being one of the first three dinosaur genera to be named by scientists.
However, the Iguanodon has not been so popular in the Jurassic Park universe.
The herbivore made its debut in the franchise in 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion.
It was first shown in a flashback scene where a grazing Iguanodon was disturbed by a Giganotosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus.
Later in the movie, some individuals were seen grazing alongside other herbivores like the Parasaurolophus and Triceratops before they were once again disturbed by a forest fire.
Mamenchisaurus
| Name | Mamenchisaurus |
| Movies featured | The Lost World (1997) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Sauropoda |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | China (Asia) |
Mamenchisaurus was a large sauropod dinosaur famous for its extremely long neck.
In fact, this dinosaur has the longest neck of any animal, both living and extinct.
Four Mamenchisaurus individuals were part of the first group of cloned dinosaurs living at Isla Sorna in the first Jurassic Park movie.
In the scene where the dinosaurs on the Island were captured by hunters, two Mamenchisaurus individuals were seen walking out of the forest.
One of the hunters drove a motorbike through the dinosaur’s legs, showcasing its enormous size.
Microceratus
| Name | Microceratus |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | China, Mongolia |
Microceratus was a small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Cretaceous Period.
According to the Jurassic Park story, this dinosaur was part of the first cloned dinosaurs that lived in the original Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar.
However, the Microceratus was not shown on-screen in this movie.
The first actual appearance of the Microceratus was in Jurassic World Dominion.
At least three of these dinosaurs were present at the Amber Clave Night market in Malta during the French Intelligence raid.
Moros
| Name | Moros |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | North America |
While most dinosaurs in Jurassic Park are often scaled up for dramatic effect, the Moros is one of the few dinosaurs whose size was reduced.
The on-screen version of this tyrannosaurid carnivore was depicted as a small duck-sized dinosaur.
The real Moros were at least 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) long and weighed up to 78 kilograms (172 pounds).
The Moros was shown briefly in a flashback scene in Jurassic World Dominion, where the dinosaur was seen scavenging on the carcass that was held in the teeth of a dead Giganotosaurus.
This individual was later scared off by a Tyrannosaurus.
Later in the movie, a Moros is seen once again cleaning the teeth of a sleeping Giganotosaurus.
Another individual was seen at the habitat lab being fed a gerbil.
The end of Jurassic World Dominion showed the Moros and a group of ducks being fed by a little girl in Washington, DC.
Nasutoceratops
| Name | Nasutoceratops |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia & Ceratopsia |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | USA (North America) |
Nasutoceratops was a large ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in North America during the Cretaceous Period.
This dinosaur was present during the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom but was not shown on screen in this film.
The first actual appearance of the Nasutoceratops was in Jurassic World Dominion.
In the movie, a herd of Nasutoceratops and other ceratopsian dinosaurs were kept at a breeding farm.
Two baby Nasutoceratops were stolen from the facility by a group of activists and were delivered to the Department of Fish and Wildlife along with an anonymous tip exposing the breeding facility.
Oviraptor
| Name | Oviraptor |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Uncertain (omnivorous or herbivorous) |
| Location | Mongolia and China (Asia) |
Despite being one of the more popular dinosaurs in the real world, the Oviraptor has had limited screen time in the Jurassic Park movies.
A prologue scene of Jurassic World Dominion paid homage to the egg-stealing reputation of the Oviraptor (even though this has been disproved by science).
In a flashback scene of the Cretaceous Period, the Oviraptor was seen raiding the nest of another dinosaur and eating one of the eggs before it was distracted by another dinosaur.
Later in the movie, Oviraptor is shown as one of the dinosaurs at the Amber Clave Market used in pit fights.
The dinosaur was pitted against a Lystrosaurus.
Despite being decapitated by the therapsid early in the fight, the Oviraptor got back up and was seen running across the pit headlessly.
Pachycephalosaurus
| Name | Pachycephalosaurus |
| Movies featured | The Lost World (1997), Jurassic World (2015) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia & Pachycephalosauria |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | Asia & North America |
The Pachycephalosaurus is one of the largest and most recognizable members of a family of thick-headed lizards known as the pachycephalosaurs.
The herbivorous dinosaur has been present in the Jurassic World universe since the onset.
It was one of the cloned dinosaurs in the first film but was not shown on screen throughout the movie.
In The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a Pachycephalosaurus was captured by hunters on Isla Sorna and was nicknamed “Friar Tuck” by the leader of the hunting team because he could not pronounce the dinosaur’s name.
Friar Tuck managed to escape and crushed the legs of one of the men in the ensuing struggle.
Pachycephalosaurus made a reappearance in Jurassic World.
They were among the dinosaurs on display at the Pachy Arena, where visitors could watch their famous head-butt duels.
Pachycephalosaurus was also mentioned in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as one of the dinosaurs living in the wild on Isla Nublar but was not shown on screen.
Parasaurolophus
| Name | Parasaurolophus |
| Movies Featured | All six films |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia & Ornithopoda |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | North America |
Parasaurolophus is one of the most popular dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park Franchise, appearing in all six films.
This large duck-billed herbivore is famous for its snorkel-like head crest, which is its most notable feature.
Parasaurolophus was one of the dinosaurs on display at the original Jurassic Park in the first movie.
In the 1997 sequel, the dinosaur was among the animals captured by dinosaur hunters at Isla Sorna.
Parasaurolophus was among the attractions at the Gyrosphere Valley in Jurassic World.
They were also present in the Cretaceous cruise and Gentle Giants Petting Zoo.
In the Fallen Kingdom, Many Parasaurolophus individuals died during the volcano eruption because their habitat was near the foothills of Mount Sibo.
A few of them were rescued and taken to the Lockwood Manor to be sold off at auction.
Parasaurolophus was also one of the most notable dinosaurs in Jurassic World Dominion, featured in many scenes of the movie.
Pyroraptor
| Name | Pyroraptor |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | Provence, France, Europe |
Pyroraptor is one of the newer additions to the Jurassic Park universe, only featuring in the last movie (2022’s Jurassic World Dominion).
It is featured in a major scene in the movie, and its appearance in the movie is quite similar to the real-life version.
Pyroraptor is the only dinosaur in the franchise to be depicted with full plumage, a design choice that makes it truer to the real-life version than many of the other dinosaurs in the franchise.
In the movie, this dinosaur chased Owen Grady and Kayla Watts over thin ice after they crash-landed at the Biosyn sanctuary.
The chase scene demonstrated the dinosaur’s speed and impressive swimming ability.
Sinoceratops
| Name | Sinoceratops |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia & Ceratopsia |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | Zhucheng, China, Asia |
Despite being significant scientifically as the only ceratopsid dinosaur from Asia, the Sinoceratops is not very well-known to the general public, having featured in just the last two Jurassic Park movies.
During the eruption of Mount Sibo in Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom, a Sinoceratops was shown licking the face of a paralyzed Owen Grady just before the volcano erupted.
Several individuals were also featured in the multispecies stampede that occurred as the volcano erupted.
One Sinoceratops was also attacked by a Carnotaurus but was able to fight off the predator and escaped with the stampeding herd.
In Jurassic World Dominion, Sinoceratops was one of the dinosaurs kept at the illegal ceratopsian breeding facility.
Some of them were transported to the Biosyn Sanctuary and were among the animals seen escaping in the famous forest fire scene.
Spinosaurus
| Name | Spinosaurus |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic Park III (2001) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Cretaceous Period |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | Africa |
Spinosaurus is the largest theropod dinosaur to have ever lived.
The dinosaur has a huge sail on its back, which is its most recognizable feature.
The on-screen version of this dinosaur in the Jurassic Park movies retained this feature as well.
Although it was one of the dinosaurs cloned by scientists on Isla Sorna, the Spinosaurus did not appear on-screen in the Jurassic World franchise until the third Jurassic Park movie.
The dinosaur played a major role in this movie, especially in the “Rescue of Eric Kirby” scenes, where it killed some of the mercenaries hired by the Kirby family.
The humans were only able to get away after the Spinosaurus got distracted by a Tyrannosaurus.
The two dinosaurs dueled for a while, but the bigger Spinosaurus emerged as the winner.
Spinosaurus was mentioned a few times in Jurassic World but did not get screen time.
Stegosaurus
| Name | Stegosaurus |
| Movies featured | All films except 1993 |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Jurassic |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia & Stegosauria |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | North America (United States) |
Stegosaurus is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs from the Jurassic Park franchise, thanks to the giant kite-like plates on its back and spike-like tail.
In the 1997 sequel, the gatherers (a group studying and photographing the dinosaurs on Isla Sorna) encountered a small Stegosaurus family.
The noise from one of their camera spooked the dinosaurs, leading to a skirmish.
Stegosaurus herds were featured briefly in a few other scenes of this movie.
In Jurassic World, Stegosaurus were among the animals on display at the Gyrosphere Valley, Cretaceous Cruise, and the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo.
Stygimoloch
| Name | Stygimoloch |
| Movies featured | Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | USA (North America) |
Stygimoloch is a close relative of the Pachycephalosaurus.
Both dinosaurs are similar in appearance, although Stygimoloch was smaller and had spikes on its dome-shaped skull.
In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Stygimoloch likely lived alongside Pachycephalosaurus at the Pachy Arena in Jurassic World but was not shown there.
The dinosaur did have a major role later in the movie.
During the auction at Lockwood Manor, one of the Stygimoloch individuals named Stiggy escaped from its cage.
The dinosaur’s escape led to a series of events that disrupted the auction.
In Jurassic World Dominion, there were references to Stygimoloch individuals being captured and exploited by poachers.
The Malta Black market had at least one individual held in captivity there.
Therizinosaurus
| Name | Therizinosaurus |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia & Theropoda |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | Mongolia (Asia) |
Therizinosaurus was a large theropod with gigantic claws that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period.
The dinosaur was mentioned for the first time in Jurassic World as one of the dinosaurs whose DNA was used to create the notorious Indominus rex hybrid.
Therizinosaurus finally had its on-screen appearance in Jurassic World Dominion.
The dinosaur stalked and almost killed Claire Dearing, who escaped by crawling into a pond and submerging herself.
Later in the movie, Therizinosaurus teamed up with Rexy, the T-rex, to fight the much bigger Therizinosaurus.
Rexy eventually rammed the Giganotosaurus into the large claws of the Therizinosaurus, killing it.
Triceratops
| Name | Triceratops |
| Movies Featured | All six films |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia, & Ceratopsia |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | USA & Canada (North America) |
The three-horned ceratopsian dinosaur is one of the top stars of the Jurassic Park movies.
It has been featured in all six movies in the franchise.
In the movies, they were depicted as gentle, social herbivores that only displayed aggression when threatened.
Jurassic Park Triceratops were similar to the real-life version, with a few minor differences, such as having elephant-like legs instead of a clawed foot.
In the first Jurassic Park movie, the Triceratops was a major part of the plot.
Dr Alan Grant stayed back at the park to care for a sick Triceratops and find out the cause of its sickness.
A rampaging Triceratops was featured in the 1997 sequel, and a small Triceratops herd was seen briefly in Jurassic Park III.
The horned dinosaurs were part of the exhibition at Jurassic World, with a section of the park named after them.
In the sequel, several Triceratops were seen fleeing from the erupting Mount Sibo, and a few of them were rescued.
In the 2022 movie, Triceratops were among the animals at the illegal ceratopsian breeding farm.
Tyrannosaurus
| Name | Tyrannosaurus |
| Movies Featured | All six Films |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | United States and Canada (North America) |
The undisputed king of the Jurassic Park Universe, the T-rex has been featured as the main antagonist (or protagonist) in almost all the Jurassic Park movies it has appeared in.
In fact, the blood used by InGen to clone all the Jurassic Park dinosaurs is from a mosquito that fed off the body of a Tyrannosaurus back in the Cretaceous.
A 40-foot-long T-rex was featured in the first Jurassic Park movie
The same individual is featured in all three movies of the Jurassic World Trilogy and has been nicknamed Rexy by fans.
Tyrannosaurus has also faced off against many dinosaurs throughout the Franchise.
This includes “The Big One” in the first Jurassic Park movie, the Spinosaurus in Jurassic Park III, Indominus rex in Jurassic World, Carnotaurus in the Fallen Kingdom, and Giganotosaurus in Jurassic World Dominion.
Apart from Rexy, other Tyrannosaurus that have been featured in Jurassic Park include Buck, Doe, Junior, and an unnamed male from Jurassic Park III.
Velociraptor
| Name | Velociraptor |
| Movies Featured | All Six Films |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | Mongolia and China (Asia) |
Although less popular compared to the T-rex, the Velociraptor is another dinosaur that has managed to seal its place in the Jurassic Park Universe.
It was one of the Villains of the first Jurassic Park movie and has gone on to feature prominently in all six films in the franchise.
The Jurassic Park Velociraptor is often depicted as an intelligent pack hunter.
The on-screen version is significantly bigger than the real-life Velociraptor.
In fact, the Jurassic Park Velociraptor is based on the dimensions of the larger Deinonychus but was named Velociraptor because the name had a better dramatic effect.
While Velociraptor was often depicted with reptilian features, scientific discoveries since the first movie was released show that this group of dinosaurs likely had feathers.
Subsequent films in the franchise have ignored this fact, sticking to the original design.
One Velociraptor named Blue has been featured in all three movies in the Jurassic World Trilogy.
Fictional Dinosaurs
In the Jurassic Park movies, the scientists created two hybrid dinosaurs by combining DNA from different individuals.
These dinosaurs had no real-life equivalence.
They showed different traits seen in other dinosaurs whose DNA was used to create them.
Indominus rex
| Name | Indominus rex |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic World (2015) |
Indominus rex was the antagonist in 2015’s Jurassic World movie.
Indominus rex was created using the T-rex DNA as the base genome.
This gave the dinosaur a strong bite force that could crush bulletproof glass.
The hybrid also had Velociraptor DNA, which made it intelligent, while Giganotosaurus DNA was added for size.
The DNA of abelisaurid dinosaurs like the (Quilmesaurus, Viavenator, Carnotaurus, and Majungasaurus) were also added to boost the dinosaur’s body armor.
Deinosuchus and Therizinosaurus DNA were also used to give the Indominus formidable teeth and claws.
The creators of Indominus rex also included DNA from modern animals like the cuttlefish, tree frog, and pit viper.
The Indominus could see infrared, change color to camouflage itself and remove its thermal signature to stay undetectable.
After escaping and going on a long rampage, the Indominus was eventually killed by Blue and Rexy.
Indoraptor
| Name | Indoraptor |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) |
Indoraptor was a hybrid dinosaur that served as the antagonist in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
This dinosaur was created by combining features of the Indominus rex and Velociraptor.
It was one of the main highlights at the Lockwood Manor Auction, where it was advertised as the “creature of the future made from pieces of the past.”
After the auction failed, the Indoraptor went on a rampage, killing several men.
It was eventually killed by Blue after a long tussle.
Synapsids
While dinosaurs were the main stars of the Jurassic Park universe, the franchise had a few other prehistoric animals.
The synapsids are among the prehistoric animals that were featured at least twice in the more recent Jurassic Park movies.
These mammal relatives predate the dinosaurs, having lived during the Permian Period and early years of the Mesozoic Era.
Lystrosaurus
| Name | Lystrosaurus |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic — Permian |
| Classification | Synapsida, Therapsida, Anomodontia |
| Diet | Herbivorous |
| Location | Asia |
Lystrosaurus was an herbivorous therapsid whose existence predates the dinosaurs.
It lived during the Permian Period and was one of the few therapsid species that survived the Permian-Triassic extinction event until about 250 million years ago.
Lystrosaurus appeared once in the Jurassic Park franchise, and that was in 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion.
It was one of the many animals at the Amber Clave Black Market.
The Lystrosaurus named Leonard fought with an Oviraptor, whom he easily decapitated.
The therapsid was also pitted against a juvenile Carnotaurus, but the two animals didn’t get to fight before the market was raided.
Later in the scene, Leonard attacked the arms of Biosyn mercenary Rainn Delacourt and held him down while he was being interrogated by Owen Grady.
Dimetrodon
| Name | Dimetrodon |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Paleozoic—Permian |
| Classification | Synapsida, Pelycosauria, Sphenacodontidae |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | North America and Europe |
The Dimetrodon is one of the prehistoric animals that is commonly misidentified as a dinosaur.
This is due to its reptilian stance and giant sail on its back, which resembles that of some dinosaur species.
Dimetrodon was a type of pelycosaur—a group of synapsids that dominated during the Permian, long before the dinosaurs evolved.
The first reference to the Dimetrodon in the Jurassic Park franchise was in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, where a statue of the synapsid is seen on display in the Lockwood Manor.
In Jurassic World Dominion, some Dimetrodon individuals were seen attacking some humans in the Amber Mines.
Pterosaurs
Pterosaurs are flying reptiles that were contemporaneous with the dinosaurs and may have interacted with them in some ways back in the Mesozoic.
A few of them have been featured in the Jurassic Park movies, including the Dimorphodon, Pteranodon, and Quetzalcoatlus.
Dimorphodon
| Name | Dimetrodon |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic World (2015), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Paleozoic—Permian |
| Classification | Synapsida, Pelycosauria, Sphenacodontidae |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | North America and Europe |
Dimorphodon was a flying reptile that lived in Southern England during the Jurassic Period.
Although it was supposed to be one of the attractions of the original Jurassic Park, the species was not fully developed at the time the park opened.
Dimorphodon made its debut in the franchise in Jurassic World.
They lived alongside other flying reptiles at the park’s Aviary.
The Dimorphodon in Jurassic Park were slightly bigger than the real-life version and could fly better.
When the Indominus rex destroyed the aviary during its rampage, the Dimorphodon and other pterosaurs escaped and attacked people in the park.
Dimorphodon was among the animals being kept as illegal pets at the Amber Clave Night Market in Jurassic World Dominion.
Pteranodon
| Name | Dimetrodon |
| Movies Featured | All films except 1993 |
| Era | Paleozoic—Permian |
| Classification | Synapsida, Pelycosauria, Sphenacodontidae |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | North America and Europe |
The Pteranodon is one of the largest flying reptiles to have ever lived, with a wingspan as large as a school bus.
It is also one of the best-known pterosaurs, with 1,200 fossils found so far.
This suggests that this pterosaur was quite abundant during the Cretaceous Period.
Pteranodon has been featured in all Jurassic Park movies since 1997.
In Jurassic Park III, Pteranodon was the large flying reptile that snatched Eric Kirby and dropped him in its nest.
The Pteranodon also lived alongside other flying reptiles at the Aviary in Jurassic World.
The pterosaurs escaped during the Indominus rampage and attacked a group of humans in a helicopter.
Quetzalcoatlus
| Name | Dimetrodon |
| Movies featured | Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Paleozoic—Permian |
| Classification | Synapsida, Pelycosauria, Sphenacodontidae |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | North America and Europe |
Quetzalcoatlus is considered the largest flying animal to have ever lived.
However, unlike some of the relatives, this pterosaur didn’t make an appearance on the big screen until the latest film in the Jurassic World franchise.
In a flashback scene in Jurassic World Dominion, four Quetzalcoatlus individuals were seen scaring off the smaller Pteranodon from a dinosaur carcass it was scavenging.
Later in the scene, one Quetzalcoatlus individual and its mate were found to have made a nest on top of the One World Trade Center in New York City.
A Quetzalcoatlus also attacked a group of humans flying in a plane at Biosyn’s sanctuary after the sanctuary’s Aerial Deterrent System (ADS), which was meant to keep the pterosaurs away, was disabled.
Marine Reptiles
Marine reptiles have not made a lot of appearances in the Jurassic Park movies.
Only one genus (the Mosasaurus) has been featured so far, but it has appeared in multiple movies in the Franchise.
Mosasaurus
| Name | Mosasaurus |
| Movies Featured | Jurassic World (2015), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous |
| Classification | Squamata, Mosasauria & Mosasauroidea |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Location | North America, Europe, Africa |
Although it was not one of the animals in the original Jurassic Park, the Mosasaurus was one of the main attractions when the new Jurassic World Park was opened.
The mosasaur was housed in a three-million-gallon pool of water known as the Jurassic World Lagoon.
Visitors to the park got to watch the Mosasaurus being fed with sharks.
The Mosasaurus feeding show is one of the most iconic scenes from the movie.
At the end of the movie, the notorious Indominus rex is eventually caught by the Mosasaurus and dragged to the bottom of the lagoon.
In the next movie, the same Mosasaurus was featured again when mercenaries tried to retrieve the remains of the Indominus rex from the lagoon.
The reptile subsequently escaped to the wild and was seen in Jurassic World Dominion hunting sharks alongside some killer whales.
Sources:
- https://screenrant.com/jurassic-park-strongest-dinosaurs-ranked/
- https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/ranking-the-30-best-dinosaurs-in-the-jurassic-park-franchise
- https://gatecrashers.fan/2022/06/10/the-bizarre-hybrid-monsters-of-the-jurassic-park-franchise/
- https://www.jurassicworlduniverse.com/dinosaurs/pteranodon/
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/14-fun-facts-about-animals-jurassic-world-180955671/
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