The 3 Scariest Jurassic Park Dinosaurs (That Aren’t T-rexes or Velociraptors)

The Jurassic Park/World franchise has over a half-dozen entries so far, and they’re all in agreement on one thing: many dinosaurs would eat you, whether they’re hungry or not. The main culprits throughout the series are Velociraptors and the Tyrannosaurus rex. Raptors will claw your tummy. A T-rex may simply chomp you, but it could also push your car over a cliff, step on you, or swim after you like a shark. It likes to keep its options open.

While beasts like Jurassic World‘s Indominus rex and Rebirth‘s Distortus are very fearsome, they’re equally silly and don’t inspire the fear that their non-hybridized cousins do. The series has plenty of other terrifying thunder reptiles on offer, despite their contributions often being lost among the many exploits of the two more popular species. Here are our picks for the (other) scariest dinosaurs in the various Jurassics.

3) Baryonyx

A brief but memorable scene in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has a Baryonyx cornering Claire (Dallas Bryce Howard) and Franklin (Justice Smith) while they’re trying to escape Isla Nublar, which is in the process of exploding. Franklin is afraid that the creature pursuing them is a T-rex, which is ridiculous because a fully grown Tyrannosaurus couldn’t possibly fit into the tunnel they hear dinosaur noises coming from—but a Baryonyx can.

Smaller than a T-rex and larger than a Velociraptor, Baryonyx is truly the sport utility vehicle of carnivorous dinosaurs. That’s what makes it scary: It’s big enough to eat you in just a few bites, but it can also get into places that larger dinos can’t.

In this scene, it follows Claire and Franklin up a ladder. And a dinosaur climbing a ladder is firmly on our list of things we didn’t know we should be afraid of.

2) Procompsognathus

Procompsognathus are the smallest dinosaurs in the Jurassic series. They’re about the size of chickens, and they don’t look like much of a threat, but of course, like every other prehistoric animal we mention on this list, they would eat you. And because they’re small, they could be anywhere. Even right behind you, right now.

In The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a swarm of compys pursue, attack, and then devour Dieter Stark (Peter Stormare) when he gets separated from the rest of his group. You could probably fight off a single Procompsognathus, but this scene contains dozens of the things, and they are tenacious. They really want to eat Stark, and they don’t stop chasing him until they do.

Compys are even scarier in the Jurassic Park novel, in which they have venomous saliva that paralyzes their prey. So basically, you’re dealing with a bunch of cobras with legs.

1) Spinosaurus

The Spinosaurus made its debut in Jurassic Park III, in which it is the biggest, baddest dinosaur on Isla Sorna. It makes its first full appearance when it interrupts a Tyrannosaurus’ pursuit of our human heroes. Obviously, that can only mean one thing: they gotta fight.

The Spinosaurus defeats the Tyrannosaurus easily, which is the story’s way of saying it’s a greater threat. Beating something in a fight automatically makes you scarier than that thing; it’s by this logic alone that Terminators, Xenomorphs, and Predators are all more terrifying than Bill Paxton.

After a bit of a break from the series, this species returns in Jurassic World: Rebirth. When a Mosasaurus fails to eat the protagonists on their boat, it leaves and then returns with backup in the form of a squad of spinosaurs. That’s how scary these guys are: when a carnivorous dino the size of a whale needs help, they’re the ones it calls.

Which other creatures from Jurassic Park still haunt your dreams? Let us know in the comments.