Here’s How the ‘Jurassic World’ Dinosaurs Looked in Real Life

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

It is well-known at this point that “Jurassic World” diverges from the science when it comes to its portrayal of dinosaurs.

In real life, many of the dinosaurs vary in size and are often covered in feathers, but a few of them actually don’t look that different.

Let’s start with Velociraptor, one of the most feared creatures in the “Jurassic Park” universe:

Universal via YouTube

In reality, the Velociraptor could be more easily compared to either a turkey or a coyote:

Velociraptor was much smaller in real life. Luis Rey

The look of Velociraptors in the film was actually based more off of Deinonychus

The film’s Velociraptors have much more in common with Deinonychus. Nobu Tamura via Wikimedia Commons

… as well as a Utahraptor which was discovered as the original “Jurassic Park” was being made:

Nobu Tamura via Wikimedia Commons

One of the most terrifying new dinosaurs introduced in “Jurassic World” is the Mosasaurus, which makes even a great white shark look tiny.

YouTube / Universal Pictures

The real Mosasaurus isn’t actually a dinosaur and it didn’t have spikes along its back.

Early fossil findings misled Victorian artists when Mosasaurus was first discovered. This sketch is more in line with the modern view of Mosasaurus. Dmitry Bogdanov via WikiCommons

The Mosasaurus is really “marine lizard that’s more closely related to snakes and lizards,” according to Dr. John Hutchinson.

After making a brief cameo in “Jurassic Park,” the Gallimimus returned for “Jurassic World”:

The real Gallimimus was actually fairly similar, but with a lot more feathers.

Gallimimus had a strong physical resemblance to an Ostrich, which is probably why it runs very similar to one in the films. Steveoc 86 via WikiCommons

Here is a Pteranodonthe unlucky victim of the much larger Mosasaurus:

And here’s a sketch of what the winged animal (who isn’t actually a dinosaur) probably looked like:

The flying Pteranodon was actually not a dinosaur. Luis Rey

The Pteranodon was actually a Pterosaur, which is “a winged reptile which is very, very, very closely related to dinosaurs but not a dinosaur,” according to Hutchinson.

And finally, there’s the almighty T. rex:

The T. rex in “Jurassic Park.” The “Jurassic World” T. rex still remains a mystery. Universal via YouTube

The real T. rex was still huge, but it was actually covered in feathers. 

Public knowledge and perception of T. rex has changed immensely since “Jurassic Park” was released in 1993. Durbed via Wiki Commons

Some have jokingly compared the T. rex to a “giant chicken.” But still, would you want to mess with it?