A new study has confirmed that Jurassic Park’s famed Dilophosaurus, the smallish, venom-spitting animal with feathers on its front and a frill throughout its neck, is “mostly imagination.” Far away from the little lizard-like dinosaur in the films, the actual Dilophosaurus was the largest land animal of its time, reaching up to 20 feet in length, and it had much in common with contemporary birds. Dilophosaurus existed 183 million years ago during the Early Jurassic. Despite big-screen fame, scientists knew surprisingly little about how the dinosaur resembled, until now. The research adds transparency to a confused research record that reaches back to the first Dilophosaurus fossil to be found, the specimen that set the standard for all subsequent Dilophosaurus findings.
