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This article contains information taken from the (removed) Jurassic Park Institute site

Dilophosaurus was one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs of the Early Jurassic Period. Dilophosaurus gets its name from the two thin crests of bone on the top of its head. These were probably used as a display for courtship purposes. (Its frill and ability to spit venom at its prey is actually made up and there is no proof if it had such abilities) Dilophosaurus has been found in Northern Arizona.

As a more primitive predatory dinosaur, Dilophosaurus didn't have forward facing eyes to give it stereo vision. It may have used scent as an integral part of its hunting technique. It had long and slender, rear-curving teeth in long jaws and strong front arms which would have been effective in grabbing prey. It was fast - probably with a top speed of about 30-mph. Footprints attributed to Dilophosaurus appear in groups, so it may have hunted in small packs. It shares the same overall body configuration as Coelophysis even though Dilophosaurus is currently classified as a member of a different group of theropods rather than Coelophysis and its relatives.[4]

Characteristics[]

The cloned Dilophosaurus had very abnormal traits that the original never had. These traits include a frill, venom glands, and a skull that resembled dromaeosaurids like Deinonychus and InGen's recreation of Velociraptor. Despite Dennis Nedry believing them to be harmless (a factor in his decision to allow them to be set free), the Dilophosaurus clones could spit venom at a range of 6 meters (20 feet) and would aim for their prey's face to stun it before the Dilophosaurus would come in for the kill.[5] The frill would expand and rattle when attacking or when preparing to attack.[6] They were also slightly smaller than their original counterpart, being 6 meters (20 feet) instead of 7 meters (23.25 feet) when fully grown, and lacked a fourth finger. However, the only ones portrayed on screen are small individuals measuring only 10 feet (3 meters) long - according to sources, it was said the creators kept the Dilophosaurus smaller to ensure that antagonistic role didn't shift from the Velociraptors in the original film. The cloned Dilophosaurus lacks a notch on the upper jaw. Like all of InGen’s theropods, they had pronated wrists. They are green in color with orange-yellow frills; however, gray-bodied, pink-frilled variants has been observed, as well, possibly representing sexual dimorphism or 2 separate DNA strands.

Behavior[]

The Dilophosaurus was observed in a solitary state, although it is possible that there were others in the vicinity. It may have been the only one created at the time of Jurassic Park, and it is likely that it was not fully grown, considering its size and behavior. The sighting occurred at night when the Dilophosaurus made noises and concealed itself among the foliage, occasionally peeking out from behind a tree, either playing or displaying curiosity while attempting to remain hidden from potential prey. Interestingly, the Dilophosaurus did not show any fear when standing in front of Nerdy, who was larger in size, indicating that it may have never encountered a human up close and was attempting to comprehend this new entity.

Furthermore, the Dilophosaurus observed Nedry throwing a stick, but it displayed minimal reaction to the thrown object, instead choosing to observe Nedry's actions. As Nedry climbed up a hill, the Dilophosaurus followed suit and eventually opened its frill to release venom at him. However, it refrained from physically attacking Nedry and allowed him to proceed up the hill towards the jeep. Once Nedry regained consciousness inside the vehicle, the Dilophosaurus once again opened its frill, preparing to attack.

Another solitary Dilophosaurus was observed lurking and emitting vocalizations near a person referred to as the "yellow jacket man." However, it quickly lost interest in causing harm, potentially indicating a desire to continue observing the situation. This change in behavior could be attributed to the impending presence of Rexy, the Tyrannosaurus rex, which caused the Dilophosaurus to flee.

A group of Dilophosaurus was observed inhabiting a region characterized by dense vegetation and trees. Their objective was to hunt down individuals (such as Daniel, Dodgson, and others), although their attempts proved unsuccessful. The Dilophosaurus employed various strategies during their pursuit, including leaping or springing towards their targets and strategically positioning themselves in different locations. Additionally, they utilized their frills as a means of intimidation. However, despite these efforts, their hunting endeavors did not result in capturing their intended prey.

Dilophosaurus has exhibited pack hunting behavior, as evidenced by their tendency to trail and stalk prey, much like they did with campers. They employ a strategy of popping out of the foliage to observe their targets before displaying their frills, spitting venom, and attempting to pursue them.

History[]

Creation[]

Seventeen Dilophosaurus were recreated by InGen[6][7] in their compound[8] on Isla Sorna where they were raised by the workers there until a few months had passed where five were transported to the neighboring island of Isla Nublar for InGen's Jurassic Park, though it is not entirely made clear whether they intended for them to spew venom or not, given the DNA they used to recreate them.[7][9] They resided in the Dilophosaur Paddock of the park.[6]

It's likely that Dr. Henry Wu's inclusion of frog DNA or a splicing error was responsible for the abnormal traits seen in the cloned Dilophosaurs. This is most likely possible, as Dr. Wu noted that Dilophosaurus genetic structure was compatible with the DNA of Dendrobates leucomelas (Yellow-banded poison dart frog).[10]

Jurassic Park[]

Isla Nublar Incident[]

"I thought you were one of your big brothers, you're not so bad."
Dennis Nedry talking to Dilophosaurus.(src)

The endorsement team was meant to see the Dilophosaurus in its paddock during their tour of Jurassic Park, but none revealed themselves to the visitors.[6]

When Dennis Nedry turned off the park's security systems so he could steal InGen's dinosaur embryos, Dilophosaurus was one of the many dinosaurs that were free to roam the island. A juvenile Dilophosaurus stalked Nedry himself when he tried to get his vehicle unstuck out of a fallen tree limb. Feeling uneasy, Nedry stopped rope towing his jeep to face his stalker that was right behind him. Dennis Nedry tried to trick the dangerous dinosaur into fetching a stick for him, but the Dilophosaurus showed little care for the stick outside of the brief sound it made when it hit the forest floor. Angered that his trick was unsuccessful, Dennis Nedry jeered the Dilophosaurus, promising to run it over, before running back to his jeep. However, when he turned around, the "Dilo" was there, and it popped up its frill before spraying venom at Nedry. The venom landed on his raincoat, and Nedry ran to his vehicle. But before he could get in, another shot by the Dilophosaur hit him straight in the eyes. Dennis (after cleaning the stinging venom from his eyes) managed to get in his vehicle, but he lost the counterfeit shaving cream can that held the dinosaur embryos he stole. When he shut the door, he realized with horror the "Dilo" was already inside, and it proceeded to devour him. The Barbasol can rolls down the hill as the "Dilo" killed him and venom splattered on the window.[6]

It was confirmed on the DPG website that all five Dilophosaurs residing on Nublar during the Jurassic Park incident had survived to 1994 at least.[7][11][12] Wild populations existed on Isla Sorna after Hurricane Clarissa struck the island because Dilophosaurus was among one of the information sheets given to the InGen Hunters during the Isla Sorna Incident and was also a screensaver for one of the computers inside the Fleetwood RV Mobile Lab that was used in the same incident.[9]

Jurassic World[]

Hologram[]

Dilophosaurusjw

A Dilophosaurus hologram in the Innovation Center.

No Dilophosaurus were known to have been held publicly in Jurassic World, nor was it listed on its official website as an attraction. However, the Innovation Center included it in the Holoscape along with other dinosaurs created by InGen. The glass of the Gyrosphere was designed to protect visitors from their spit, Jurassic World vets were trained to treat a common fungal infection in the folds of their frills, and The Evolution of Claire confirmed there was a pack of the animals in the park during 2004, implying it was taken out of public display at some point.[13][14][15]

During the Jurassic World Incident, the holographic display of Dilophosaurus was briefly used by Gray Mitchell to distract the Velociraptor Delta while he, Claire Dearing, Owen Grady, and his brother Zach Mitchell escaped the building.[13] After the closure of Jurassic World, any remaining Dilophosaurus were able to roam the island freely.

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous[]

Season 3[]

JWCC S4 Dilophosaurus

A trio of Dilophosaurus seen in Season 4 of Camp Cretaceous.

During their time on the island, Camp Cretaceous camper Darius encountered a Dilophosaurus and drew it in his Jurassic World field guide.

Season 4[]

Taking Control[]

A pack of Dilophosaurus were among the dinosaurs recently captured from Isla Nublar by Mantah Corp and taken to their island. From there, they were placed into the island's swamp biodome.

Who's the Boss?[]

After a group of survivors of the Jurassic World Incident caused trouble on the island, Daniel Kon and Kash D. Langford devised a trap where they would present that they would feed the island's wounded Kentrosaurus, Pierce, to the Dilophosaurus. Darius, Kenji, Ben, and Dr. Mae Turner attempted to fend them off from eating Pierce, but even with their makeshift sheilds they were overwhelmed until Brooklynn, Sammy, and Yaz successfully chased the Dilophosaurus away with a snow glider.

Season 5[]

While Kenji, his father, Lewis Dodgson, Hawkes and several mercenaries were trying to capture Blue, the Velociraptor lead them into a Dilophosaurus nest. Dodgson narrowly dodged the venomous spit of one and hid behind a tree as the others fought off the pack of dinosaurs. A Dilophosaurus cornered and nearly killed Dodgson, but Daniel Kon scared the dinosaur off by throwing a flare at it.

While Ben and Yaz were chasing Firecracker, they were attacked by a pair of Dilophosauruses, but they managed to escape.

Later, a Dilophosaurus attacked Ben, Yaz and Sammy, but it was quickly dragged underwater and eaten by a Nothosaurus.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom[]

During the operation to retrieve a bone from the skeleton of the Indominus rex, Jack was briefly startled by the sound of a Dilophosaurus hooting in the jungle near the mercenaries' Main Street campsite. However, he resumed his work without encountering the dinosaur, likely because the approaching T. rex scared the smaller predator away.[16]

In the museum in Lockwood Manor, a Dilophosaurus statue can be seen fighting a brown Velociraptor statue in a diorama that was eventually wrecked by the Indoraptor. The Dilophosaurus in the estate is mainly green with red crests and frill.[16]

A viable embryo of the Dilophosaurus was also seen being salvaged and in possession of Mills' mercenaries during Malcolm's voiced over final testimony with the committee.[16]

By 2018, it was known that Dilophosaurus was subject to cruelty at some point in the past, according to the DPG.[17]

Jurassic World: Dominion[]

Some Dilophosaurus were captured and taken to the Biosyn sanctuary by 2022. At night, a Dilophosaurus ambushed Claire Dearing near a research outpost at the Biosyn Sanctuary, roaring at her with its frill popped up. It also appeared to be taller than her, suggesting this specimen was fully grown. However, Claire was rescued by Owen Grady who grabed the dinosaur's neck from behind before it could spit its venom while Kayla Watts tased it, driving the dinosaur off.

After Lewis Dodgson caused a forest fire with giant locusts, Dilophosaurus were among the dinosaurs that were evacuated into the sanctuary. Later, a trio of Dilophosaurus ambushed Lewis Dodgson in a hyperloop pod as he tried to escape with the Barbasol can. All 3 cornered Dodgson in the hyperloop and devoured him, mirroring the death of Dennis Nedry 29 years before. It is assumed that the Dilophosaurus now resides in the wild or currently residing in the abandoned valley which is now a global preserve owned by the United Nations.

Gallery[]

Photos[]

Promotional Images[]

Jurassic Park[]

The Lost World: Jurassic Park[]

Jurassic World[]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom[]

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous[]

Jurassic World: Dominion[]

Videos[]

Vocalizations[]

More information was added for the Dilophosaurus in the film, like the fact that the Dilophosaurus in the film were juveniles. Juveniles would hunt in packs, but only the leader was allowed to disable prey.[5] It is unknown if the adults hunted in packs like the younger individuals.

Uvs120406-001

The Dilophosaurus bio with its adult size.



Theme parks[]

Jurassic Park: The Ride[]

In Jurassic Park: The Ride, a number of Dilophosaurs can be seen. The first one that appears in the ride feasting on the dead remains of passengers of a boat that had gone into despair in the Raptor Containment Area. A group of Dilophosaurus (two in the Hollywood version, three in the Universal Studios Orlando version) spit at the visitors as they go into the Water Treatment Facility.

In the Halloween event, Project Evilution, a scientist named Dr. Burton accidentally creates human-Dilophosaurus hybrids. When visitors encounter them, the hybrids want to eat them. At the end of the Project Evilution ride, they hang their creator.

Behind the scenes[]

Dilophosaurus, along with Compsognathus, Procompsognathus (Novel) , are the only known venomous dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park franchise.

Dilophosaurus lived during the early Jurassic Period, before mosquitoes are currently confirmed by the fossil record to exist. If Jurassic Park was able to find any viable DNA specimens, there would have been very little to go on. This would mean that there would be more gaps than normal in the DNA sequence, subsequently filled by more frog DNA. This could explain why the Dilophosaurus are so different from their prehistoric counterparts, far more so than other dinosaurs.

The movie's Dilophosaurus was also sized down to prevent confusion with the raptors.[18] Because of its minor role, the filmmakers were able to not fully follow the storyboards involving the Dilo completely.[19] Similarly, Shane Mahan—head of the Stan Winston Studio team who created the Dilophosaur—went ahead and created the full-sized animatronic without making a full-size maquette, his reasons being that he was confident that his team did not require a full maquette to create it and because he "wanted to get right into the actual character."[18]

Content jurassic-park-spitter-blog-8

Shane Mahan detailing the heads of the final design of the Dilophosaurus animatronic.

The Stan Winston Studio team responsible for the creation of the Dilophosaur animatronic analyzed frame by frame a documentary featuring an ostrich which the used to create the hopping gait of its animatronic. Initially, a cam operated mechanism was created for one of its legs to follow the gait of an ostrich before a different mechanism was chosen. This later mechanism were rods coming out of its feet going beneath the floor and operated by a puppeteer.[20] Inspired by the Steadicam, Rick Galinson created the concept for its neck.[18] Each spring in the neck and head were sprung differently with each spring being heavier from the head the to the body, providing realistic movements.[20] This had mechanism had originally been proposed for the raptor, but Stan Winston Studio was not convinced that it would work on an animal that large, so the steady cam mechanism was transferred to the Dilophosaurus. After the mechanism was created, Stan Winston was impressed by what Galinson had done and applied it to the animatronic of the Velociraptor's head and neck, scrapping an alternate design for the raptor animatronic.[18] The animatronic had three interchangeable heads: the frill in a lowered position, mechanized to allow the frill to open, and lastly the frill open and able to rattle as well as the ability to spit.[21] The frill itself was a sheet of latex rubber glued onto some support rods hooked to a pulley. When activated, it rotated out and forward simultaneously as it was coming off the animatronic Dilo's neck. Its ability to spit was a paintball mechanism with the spit itself being a mixture of methacyl and K-Y® Jelly with some food coloring. Underneath the tongue of the third head were two holes for the tubing that would have high-pressure air pumped through them to allow the animatronic the ability to "spit". The rest of the body, such as the head, tail, and arms were radio controlled.[20] Cable-actuated insert legs were also created to portray the Dilo's hop when it initially approaches Nedry. The hopping was created by the legs being suspended from stage catwalks on bungee cords.[22][21]

Bluedilounused

Unused paddock icon.

For the filming of Nedry's demise, a trench was built on the set for the path the Dilophosaurus would take as well as so that Shane Mahan could support and puppeteer the Dilo's legs while a crane above supported its body and the rest of the team responsible for its creation radio-controlled the other body parts of the animatronic upstairs. Because of the copious amount of water that was to be on the set during shooting, the soundstage used in the filming of the scene had a water tank underneath the set and was supposed to drain into the Los Angeles River, but the drainage system did not function well. This caused water to overflow into the puppeteering area, which led to Mahan being given a riser to stand on just to get at least some of the water off of him, but the water level only got higher. The roaring of the water made it difficult to hear out of his headset making him unable to hear the film crew, which made him rely on a video monitor stacked onto some Snapple boxes. But water got so high that this monitor floated away from Mahan and was rising to his chest. However, this was toward the end of filming and filming of the scene was filmed without Mahan drowning.[21][20] Director Steven Spielberg thought that the Dilophosaurus was going to be the easiest practical dinosaur to film in Jurassic Park, but was disappointed by the problems that occurred when filming of the scene.[23] The Dilophosaurus and Triceratops are the only dinosaurs to appear in Jurassic Park that did not use CGI, only using animatronics.

The sounds of the Dilophosaurus came from various sources. The hooting sounds it made were created from combining the call of a black swan and the bark of a dog, while the chirps it made came from a baby ostrich, and the screeches it made when preparing to spit were created from a mixture of a hawk, a howler monkey, an egret (that has a raspy call), and sound designer Gary Rydstrom making a croaking sound to give the dinosaur some body and weight. The rattling of its frill was also created from a rattlesnake and a "very exotic" insect.[24][25] [26] [27]

The Jurassic Park trading card of Dilophosaurus incorrectly states that it is forty feet in height.[28] If this were the case that would mean the crested dinosaur would be taller than Spinosaurus and Tyrannosaurus as well as both its real life and film counterparts. This seems to have been an error by the publisher as the card "A Dilophosaur Drops By" gives a more accurate height of four feet for the film's Dilo.[29]

The Jurassic Park depiction of Dilophosaurus has been taken up by others. Several other video games, such as ParaWorld, Jurassic: The Hunted, Nanosaur, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, feature Dilophosaurus modeled after the representations in Jurassic Park. In Primal Carnage, the Dilophosaur can spit poison over long distances, but it doesn't have a frill. The Whitest Kids U'Know sketch "Dinosaur Rap" (a music video for Trevor Moore's "Gettin' High With Dinosaurs") features a Dilophosaurus, complete with a short frill.

The holographic Dilophosaurus in Jurassic World was the size of Delta the Velociraptor, providing more evidence that the Dilophosaurus in Jurassic Park was a juvenile. Additionally, Jack Ewins stated on Twitter that the RV's Dilophosaurus screensaver was accurate, cementing the first movie's depiction as a juvenile.[30] Furthermore, archival behind-the-scenes material involving Steven Spielberg, Stan Winston, and Jack Horner, Winston explained that the Dilophosaurus being so small in the first film was due to it being a younger individual.[31]

Dilophosaurus was meant to appear proper in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but it was cut from the final film.[32]

In scrapped concept art for Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, a hybrid of Dilophosaurus, Carnotaurus, and Nothronychus appeared.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dinosaur Field Guide, page 64
  2. InGen Field Guide, page 16
  3. 3.0 3.1 Seen on computer in Trailer, see picture in text
  4. Dinopedia on the JPI site
  5. 5.0 5.1 Tour the Island
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Jurassic Park
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 As seen in a leaked InGen report of the active dinosaurs on Nublar and Sorna, leaked in 2018 by DPG.
  8. Jurassic Park III
  9. 9.0 9.1 The Lost World: Jurassic Park
  10. KARYOLYSIS
  11. http://www.dinosaurprotectiongroup.com/what-killed-the-gene-guard-act.html What Killed the Gene Guard Act?
  12. http://www.dinosaurprotectiongroup.com/investigation-the-old-park.html Investigation: The Old Park
  13. 13.0 13.1 Jurassic World
  14. http://www.dinosaurprotectiongroup.com/the-importance-of-paleo-vets.html The Importance of Paleo-Vets
  15. The Evolution of Claire
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
  17. "This Poster on the DPG website..." (February 5, 2018)
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 The Making of Jurassic Park, pp. 35-36
  19. Jurassic Park Topps trading cards: #92 - Likeable But Lethal
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 JURASSIC PARK's Spitter - Building the Dilophosaurus Dinosaur puppet
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Mahan, Shane. (August 17, 2012) Jurassic Park's Spiter Attacks Nedry. Stan Winston School of Character Arts, excerpted from the book The Winston Effect: The Art & History of Stan Winston Studio.
  22. The Making of Jurassic Park, pp. 113-114.
  23. Sears, Rufus. (October 12, 2014) How Jurassic Park Became The Biggest Movie Of All Time. Empire Online, first published in Empire Magazine #50 (August 1993).
  24. The Making of Jurassic Park documentary
  25. The Making of Jurassic Park, p. 144.
  26. Buachann, Kyle. (June 9, 2015) You’ll Never Guess How the Dinosaur Sounds in Jurassic Park Were Made. Vulture.
  27. https://youtu.be/FRj0vKruPv8
  28. Jurassic Park Topps trading cards: #4 - Dilophosaurus
  29. Jurassic Park Topps trading cards: #44 - A Dilophosaur Drops By
  30. https://twitter.com/Jack_Ewins/status/1073297582015823872
  31. https://www.facebook.com/behindthegatesofficial/videos/2476983862520875/
  32. https://jurassicoutpost.com/jurassic-world-fallen-kingdom-almost-featured-dilophoaurus-but-dont-expect-the-deleted-scenes-to-be-released/

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