Dilophosaurus wetherilli
Pronunciación: dye-LOF-oh-SORE-us weh-THER-il-eye
Neotheropoda · Dilophosauridae
A large Early Jurassic theropod from the Kayenta Formation of Arizona with two thin crests on its skull. The neck frill and venom spitting of Jurassic Park are fiction with no fossil support.
- Crested
- Bipedal
- Movie icon
- Trackways known
- Período
- Jurásico· Sinemuriense
- Dieta
- Carnívoro
- Longitud
- 7 m
- Masa
- 400 kg
- Ubicación
- Arizona
Respuestas rápidas
- ¿Qué tamaño tenía Dilophosaurus wetherilli?
- Dilophosaurus wetherilli medía unos 7 m de largo. Alcanzaba unos 1,3–1,6 m de altura a la cadera. Pesaba alrededor de 400 kg. (Marsh & Rowe 2020; Paul 2016)
- ¿Cuándo vivió Dilophosaurus wetherilli?
- Dilophosaurus wetherilli vivió durante el Jurásico Inferior, hace unos 199,5–184,2 millones de años. (Cohen et al. 2023; Marsh & Rowe 2020)
- ¿Dónde se han encontrado fósiles de Dilophosaurus wetherilli?
- Se han encontrado fósiles de Dilophosaurus wetherilli en Kayenta Formation (Arizona). (Welles 1954; Welles 1970)
- ¿Qué comía Dilophosaurus wetherilli?
- Dilophosaurus wetherilli era carnívoro. (Welles 1954; Welles 1970)
- ¿Quién nombró a Dilophosaurus wetherilli y cuándo?
- Dilophosaurus wetherilli fue descrito por Samuel P. Welles en 1954. (Welles 1954; Welles 1970)
- ¿Aparece Dilophosaurus wetherilli en Jurassic Park?
- Sí. Dilophosaurus wetherilli aparece en Jurassic Park (Parque Jurásico) (1993), Jurassic World: Dominio (2022) y Jurassic World Rebirth (2025). Las películas se toman libertades; esta página las compara con la evidencia fósil. (Wikipedia: Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park 2026; Marsh & Rowe 2020)
En esta página
- Período
- Jurásico199,5–184,2 Ma
- Dieta
- Carnívoro
- Longitud
- 7 m
- Masa
- 0,4 t
- Clasificación
- Neotheropoda · Dilophosauridae
- Descrito
- 1954, Samuel P. Welles
Resumen
Este contenido está disponible en inglés.
Dilophosaurus wetherilli lived in what is now northern Arizona during the Early Jurassic. Its bones come from the Kayenta Formation, on Navajo Nation land. Samuel Welles described the first skeletons in 1954 as a new species of Megalosaurus and, after a later specimen showed its paired skull crests, gave it its own genus in 1970.
It was one of the largest predators of its time: a slender, long-legged theropod with a pair of thin, arched crests along the top of the skull and a notch between the premaxilla and maxilla in the upper jaw. Marsh and Rowe (2020) redescribed all known specimens and showed that the skull was sturdier than once thought, not weak or fragile.
The Dilophosaurus of the film Jurassic Park is much smaller, has an expandable neck frill and spits venom. None of this is known from fossils: there is no evidence for a frill or for venom, and the real animal was far larger (Marsh & Rowe 2020). The crests were probably for display.
Significado del nombre
From Greek di- ("two"), lophos ("crest") and sauros ("lizard"): "two-crested lizard" (Welles 1970); wetherilli honours John Wetherill, a Navajo trader and explorer (Welles 1954).
Biología y evidencia
Lo que piensan los científicos sobre cómo vivía este animal y qué tan sólida es la evidencia de cada idea.
Postura
Dilophosaurus-like theropods rested like birds, with the palms of their hands facing each other.
Nivel de evidencia: Evidencia moderadaA trace fossil in Utah preserves a large theropod sitting down, with its hands held facing inward like a bird's wings. It is not proven that the trace maker was Dilophosaurus itself.
Evidencia a favor / en contra · 1
Evidencia a favor
Icnofósil · St. George theropod resting trace
An Early Jurassic trace of a large theropod sitting, with impressions of feet, hips and hands held facing inward, attributed to a Dilophosaurus-like animal.
Lesiones y enfermedades
The Dilophosaurus holotype survived many serious injuries.
Nivel de evidencia: Evidencia directaThe type specimen has broken and infected arm bones that had healed, showing it lived for a long time after being badly hurt.
Evidencia a favor / en contra · 1
Evidencia a favor
Espécimen · Healed injuries on the Dilophosaurus holotype
Eight pathologies on the arm and shoulder of UCMP 37302, including fractures and bone infection, many healed.
Espécimen: UCMP 37302
Otros
Dilophosaurus had no neck frill and did not spit venom; both are film inventions.
Nivel de evidencia: Evidencia sólidaNo fossil shows a frill or a venom gland, and nothing in the skull hints at either. The film also made it much smaller than the real, roughly 7 m animal.
Evidencia a favor / en contra · 1
Evidencia a favor
Anatomía comparada · Dilophosaurus skull redescription
Redescription of all specimens showing a well-joined skull with a strong bite for its size, not a weak one.
Espécimen: UCMP 37302, UCMP 77270
The two crests of Dilophosaurus were for display, not for fighting.
Nivel de evidencia: HipótesisThe crests are thin and hollow, too fragile to use as weapons. Display to rivals or mates is the likely role, as with crests of modern birds, but it cannot be tested directly.
Evidencia a favor / en contra · 1
Evidencia a favor
Espécimen · Paired thin crests on Dilophosaurus skulls
Two thin, arched crests of bone along the top of the skull, fragile and full of air spaces.
Espécimen: UCMP 77270
Tamaño
- Longitud
- 7 m
- Altura
- 1,4 mrango publicado 1,3–1,6 m
- Masa
- 400 kg
(23 pies)
Basado en Largest known individuals (Kayenta Formation)
(4,6 pies)
Basado en UCMP 77270 (femur c. 0.55 m)
Línea de tiempo
Períodos: Sinemuriense (199,5–192,9 Ma), Pliensbachiense (192,9–184,2 Ma), Jurásico Inferior (201,4–174,7 Ma)
Ages are the ICS 2023/09 bounds of the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian, the stage(s) the fossils are assigned to; they bracket the record and are not dated first/last appearances. The Kayenta Formation is commonly assigned to these stages; its precise age is uncertain and was not verified against a dated section.
Ubicación
Formaciones
- Kayenta Formation · Arizona
Lugares
- Dilophosaurus type locality, near Tuba City, Navajo Nation, Arizona · Kayenta Formation · Arizona · posición aproximada
Estos son los lugares donde se han encontrado fósiles, no toda el área donde vivía el animal.
Ecosistema
Vivió en: Kayenta
hace 196–183 millones de años · sistema fluvial, llanura aluvial, desierto / dunas
Early Jurassic rivers and floodplains in what is now northern Arizona, between the great dune fields of the Wingate and Navajo sandstones, with a seasonal, fairly dry climate.
Clasificación
- cladoDinosauria
- cladoSaurischia
- cladoTheropoda
- cladoNeotheropoda
- familiaDilophosauridae
- géneroDilophosaurus
- especieDilophosaurus wetherilli
Estado taxonómico: Válido
Registro fósil
| Número de catálogo | Estado | Institución | Hallado |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCMP 37302 | Holotipo | University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) | 1942 |
| UCMP 37303 | Paratipo | University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) | 1942 |
| UCMP 77270 | Espécimen referido | University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) | 1964 |
Lo que se ha encontrado
Holotipo: UCMP 37302
- Conservado
- Parcial
- Reconstruido
- Desconocido / no registrado
Holotipo: UCMP 37302
Región por región (tabla)
| Región | Estado |
|---|---|
| Skull | Parcial |
| Mandible | Parcial |
| Teeth | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Cervical vertebrae | Conservado |
| Dorsal vertebrae | Conservado |
| Sacrum | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Caudal vertebrae | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Ribs | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Gastralia | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Scapula / shoulder girdle | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Humerus | Conservado · With healed injuries (Senter & Juengst 2016). |
| Forearm (radius / ulna) | Conservado |
| Hand (manus) | Parcial |
| Pelvis | Parcial |
| Femur | Conservado |
| Tibia / fibula | Conservado |
| Foot (pes) | Desconocido / no registrado |
Paratipo: UCMP 37303
Región por región (tabla)
| Región | Estado |
|---|---|
| Skull | Parcial |
| Mandible | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Teeth | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Cervical vertebrae | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Dorsal vertebrae | Parcial |
| Sacrum | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Caudal vertebrae | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Ribs | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Gastralia | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Scapula / shoulder girdle | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Humerus | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Forearm (radius / ulna) | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Hand (manus) | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Pelvis | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Femur | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Tibia / fibula | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Foot (pes) | Desconocido / no registrado |
Espécimen referido: UCMP 77270
Región por región (tabla)
| Región | Estado |
|---|---|
| Skull | Conservado · Both crests. |
| Mandible | Conservado |
| Teeth | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Cervical vertebrae | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Dorsal vertebrae | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Sacrum | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Caudal vertebrae | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Ribs | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Gastralia | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Scapula / shoulder girdle | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Humerus | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Forearm (radius / ulna) | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Hand (manus) | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Pelvis | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Femur | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Tibia / fibula | Desconocido / no registrado |
| Foot (pes) | Desconocido / no registrado |
Descubrimiento
- Año de descripción
- 1954
- Descrito por
- Samuel P. Welles
- Espécimen tipo
- UCMP 37302
Cronología del descubrimiento
1942 · Primer material hallado
Jesse Williams leads Camp's team to the Dilophosaurus bones
A Navajo man, Jesse Williams, shows a UCMP expedition led by Charles Camp the site in the Kayenta Formation.
Personas: Jesse Williams, Charles L. Camp
1954 · Descrito formalmente
Welles names Megalosaurus wetherilli
The skeletons are first described as a new species of Megalosaurus.
Personas: Samuel P. Welles
1970 · Renombrado
Crested specimen found and Dilophosaurus named
A specimen found in 1964 with both crests leads Welles to name the new genus Dilophosaurus.
Personas: Samuel P. Welles
2020 · Estudio importante
Marsh and Rowe redescribe Dilophosaurus
A full redescription of all known specimens and a new family-tree analysis.
Personas: Adam D. Marsh
En Jurassic Park y Jurassic World
Películas
- Jurassic Park (Parque Jurásico) (1993)
- Jurassic World: Dominio (2022)
- Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)
Este contenido está disponible en inglés.
En pantalla
A small dinosaur with a retractable neck frill that spits blinding venom; it kills Dennis Nedry in the first film.
Película frente a fósiles
- No fossil shows a neck frill or venom: both were invented for the film (the frill was inspired by the living frilled lizard).
- The real Dilophosaurus was much larger, around 6 to 7 m long; the film shrank it so audiences would not confuse it with the raptors.
- Its two thin crests on top of the skull are real and are its best-known feature in the fossils.
Los títulos de las películas se citan solo para identificarlas. DinoDex no está afiliado a la franquicia Jurassic Park / Jurassic World ni cuenta con su respaldo. Todos los dinosaurios que aparecen en las películas
Fuentes
- (2026). Wikipedia: Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs_in_Jurassic_Park (se abre en una pestaña nueva)
- (2026). Wikipedia: Jurassic World Rebirth. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_World_Rebirth (se abre en una pestaña nueva)
- Cohen, K. M., Harper, D. A. T., Gibbard, P. L. & Car, N. (2023). International Chronostratigraphic Chart (v2023/09). International Commission on Stratigraphy. https://stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2023-09.pdf (se abre en una pestaña nueva)
- Marsh, A. D. & Rowe, T. B. (2020). A comprehensive anatomical and phylogenetic evaluation of Dilophosaurus wetherilli (Dinosauria, Theropoda) with descriptions of new specimens from the Kayenta Formation of northern Arizona. Journal of Paleontology 94(S78): 1-103. doi:10.1017/jpa.2020.14 (se abre en una pestaña nueva)
- Paul, G. S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2nd edition). Princeton University Press.
- Shay, D. & Duncan, J. (1993). The Making of Jurassic Park. Ballantine Books.
- Welles, S. P. (1954). New Jurassic dinosaur from the Kayenta Formation of Arizona. Geological Society of America Bulletin 65(6): 591-598. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1954)65[591:NJDFTK]2.0.CO;2 (se abre en una pestaña nueva)
- Welles, S. P. (1970). Dilophosaurus (Reptilia: Saurischia), a new name for a dinosaur. Journal of Paleontology 44(5): 989.