Every Dinosaur in the Original Jurassic Park, Ranked by Power & Threat Level

The Jurassic Park franchise introduces many types of dinosaurs and even hybrids over the course of its seven films, but there are seven kinds seen in the original movie — and they vary in terms of power, and thus, threat level. The characters face off with the most threatening of the bunch, resulting in several Jurassic Park scenes that have come to define the franchise. The 1993 film also sees them interacting with less hostile dinosaurs that can still be dangerous under the right circumstances…but often, they’re not.

There are a few factors that make one Jurassic Park dinosaur more daunting than another, from the creature’s size to its speed and intelligence. The least threatening tend to be herbivores or omnivores that are on the smaller side. By contrast, the film’s carnivores are predators anyone would be wise to steer clear of. The worst of them blend physical advantages with intelligence, a lethal combo.

7) Gallimimus

A herd of Gallimimus is seen briefly in Jurassic Park, and they don’t pose much of a threat to the characters — though they aren’t completely harmless either. For one, you probably wouldn’t want to get in the way of the herd while they’re running together, as it seems like a good way to get trampled. Although Alan, Lex, and Tim run among them for a while, they’re forced to hide behind a tree in order to avoid that fate. Otherwise, these dinosaurs seem unbothered by the humans. And considering they mostly eat plants and much smaller creatures, that makes sense. They’re neck-and-neck with the Parasaurolophus as the least dangerous dinosaur in Jurassic Park. They’re slightly smaller though, landing them last on the list.

6) Parasaurolophus

Parasaurolophus are herbivores, and like the Gallimimus, they’re small compared to the rest of the dinosaurs seen in Jurassic Park. This makes them less intimidating in terms of sheer size. And their temperament is relatively peaceful, with the creatures keeping to themselves. (We only see them from afar in the film.) They could still defend themselves if they needed to, but it’s unlikely they’d go out of their way to attack someone. And their features aren’t all that deadly, so they’d have their work cut out for them…at least more so than the heavier and more vicious dinosaurs Alan and the others run into.

5) Brachiosaurus 

One of the first dinosaurs Alan Grant and the other visitors see in Jurassic Park is the Brachiosaurus, which isn’t much of a threat in terms of its diet or temperament. This dinosaur is a herbivore, and it’s a fairly friendly one at that. The only thing that makes it somewhat dangerous is its size, which could cause harm inadvertently. Otherwise, its speed and features don’t lend themselves to doing damage. They don’t have horns like the other herbivore Alan and Ellie make close contact with, and they aren’t as vicious or eager to hunt humans as the carnivores in the movie. They’re the type of dinosaur you could probably interact with and survive, landing them in the middle of the list.

4) Triceratops

Alan and Ellie interact with a sick Triceratops in Jurassic Park as well, and on a better day, this dinosaur would be more threatening than the Brachiosaurus — though not as much as Jurassic Park‘s carnivores. The Triceratops is among the most threatening herbivores, with their size and horns making them deadly. They’re believed to be more hostile than most herbivores, too, meaning they could attack people around them totally unprovoked. In terms of sheer strength, they’d actually be in the number three spot, above the Dilophosaurus. But I’d rank Jurassic Park’s version of the Dilophosaurus as slightly more dangerous because of its more active desire to kill. A Triceratops wouldn’t hunt humans…but it would probably go after them if they got too close.

3) Dilophosaurus

The features of the Dilophosaurus in Jurassic Park aren’t accurate to those of the real-life dinosaur (via Scientific American), but both versions would still rank highly in terms of threat level. In the film, this dinosaur is on the smaller side — which means it’s less physically powerful than the Triceratops. However, Jurassic Park‘s take on the creature spits deadly venom. It also hunts its prey, making it difficult for someone caught in its path to make an escape. Both of these things place it above the Triceratops as a dangerous opponent. The historically accurate Dilophosaurus was actually larger and not venomous, putting it on more equal footing with the Triceratops strength-wise. The two are close, but there’s no debating that they both rank below Jurassic Park‘s scariest creatures.

2) Tyrannosaurus Rex

One of the most iconic scenes in Jurassic Park sees our characters running into the T-Rex, and to this day, it’s one of the most heart-pounding encounters of the entire franchise. The sheer size of the Tyrannosaurus Rex makes it powerful and threatening, but its temperament and diet push it to the top of this list. It preys on other dinosaurs and humans in the film, and its superior sense of smell makes it difficult to hide from. Its huge teeth and bite also make it a fearsome opponent, as it can maim and kill with just one bite. Despite its size, it’s fairly fast on its feet, too. It’d be a terrifying beast to run into, but in terms of threat level, it’s still beat by the smartest dinosaur in Jurassic Park.

1) Velociraptors

The Velociraptors in Jurassic Park are smaller than the T-Rex, but they’re incredibly fast, clever, and hunt in packs — all things that make them much harder to evade. They’re also carnivores that are happy to hunt humans and fellow dinosaurs. And Velociraptors are nothing to scoff at when it comes to their bite or their oversized claws. In the movie, they can cause harm and land killing blows just as effectively as any T-Rex (just maybe not as quickly). The Jurassic Park versions of these creatures are also the size of humans, giving them a decent amount of weight and strength. In reality, the creatures were smaller, which would place them behind the real-life T-Rex. Looking solely at Jurassic Park, however, they’re the scariest dinosaurs you could run into.

Which dinosaur do you think is the deadliest in Jurassic Park? Leave a comment and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

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