Is The Atrociraptor A Real Dinosaur? Red In Dominion Explained

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This article contains spoilers for Jurassic World Dominion.

Jurassic World Dominion introduced viewers to a new dinosaur never seen before on the big screen, the Atrociraptor (a name that means "savage robber"). The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchises have always been known for their deep cuts into paleontology. For every famous dinosaur, such as the Tyrannosaurus rex, there is a less well-known one such as Baryonyx. Jurassic World Dominion features more new dinosaur species, notably Atrociraptor.

The Atrociraptors are introduced as pack hunters, strikingly similar to the Velociraptors. There's a degree of irony in their role in Jurassic World Dominion, given they have been trained to hunt specific targets mercilessly. The irony is their targeting Owen and Claire as Owen was the man who proved raptors could be trained in the first place. Pleasingly, Atrociraptor is a genuine species of dinosaur, although in reality, surprisingly little is known about it.

Related: Jurassic World Dominion Ending Explained (In Detail)

Fossils of Atrociraptor — or, to give the dinosaur its proper name, Atrociraptor marshalli, with the latter referencing the man who discovered it — were first discovered in Alberta, Canada, back in 1995. Only one specimen has been identified to date, from parts of the upper and lower jaws, teeth, and numerous skull fragments. All this means paleontologists are still studying the dinosaur, figuring out what it was really like.

Scientists believe dinosaurs were feathered, which naturally means Atrociraptor — like most dinosaurs — probably looked very different from Jurassic World Dominion's version. The film reproduces the Atrociraptor's distinctive skull shape fairly accurately, and occasionally focuses