"Run."
Paul Kirby: What was that?
Billy Brennan: That's a Tyrannosaurus.
Alan Grant: I don't think so. It sounds bigger.
Billy Brennan: That's a Tyrannosaurus.
Alan Grant: I don't think so. It sounds bigger.
For many decades, Tyrannosaurus rex was seen as the undisputed king of the dinosaurs and the largest predator that ever walked the Earth. However, in recent years, an even larger predator entered public consciousness: Spinosaurus aegyptiacus.
Early reconstructions depicted Spinosaurus pretty much as either a T. rex with a sail on its back or a bipedal Dimetrodon. Then, it was discovered it had an elongated, crocodile-like skull and relatively large front limbs with massive claws — this was the way Jurassic Park 3 introduced it to the general public. However, even more recent discoveries found it had surprisingly short hind legs and a paddle-like tail, which suggest it was a semi-aquatic fish hunter. Spinosaurus was definitely one of the weirder dinosaurs, looking like a cross between a crocodile and a giant duck, with an additional dorsal sail jutting out of the water like a shark fin (which is threatening on its own). The second revision has yet to penetrate the pop consciousness, unfortunately.
Despite this, fictional spinosaurids will typically be depicted as fully terrestrial, human-eating predators, as opposed to the amphibious fish-eaters they likely were in real life. There is limited evidence that spinosaurids occasionally preyed on terrestrial animals, but likely nowhere near as often as fiction would suggest. Sometimes, they will be depicted swimming, but that's about it.
Despite not being contemporaries, spinosaurids (particularly Spinosaurus) are often seen as the Unpleasant Animal Counterpart to the T. rex — when a work features a heroic T. rex, the antagonistic predator will often be a spinosaur. This is because, aside from the fact that the most famous member of their family is bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex, their crocodilian appearance adds to their scary, villainous image. The two will more often than not end up fighting each other.
Fictional spinosaurids will usually be either Spinosaurus, or its smaller, sail-free relative Baryonyx — in educational media, Suchomimus may occasionally pop up, but the others (namely Ichthyovenator, Irritator, Oxalaia and Vallibonavenatrix) are pretty much unheard of.
A subtrope of Prehistoric Monster. See also Raptor Attack and Terrifying Tyrannosaur.
Examples
open/close all folders
Anime & Manga
- Dinosaur King: Spiny the Spinosaurus is one of the dinosaurs used by the villains. Baryonyx and Suchomimus also appear in a couple of episodes.
- Doraemon:
- A Spinosaurus attacks Suneo during the episode "Running Away to the Cretaceous Period" of the 2005 anime series, but a T. rex saves him by fighting the Spino and pushing it off a cliff.
- At the end of the movie Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006, the villains send their pet Spinosaurus to kill the protagonists. Fortunately, their tamed T. rex goes to fight the Spino and manages to defeat it.
- Subverted in the 2021 remake of Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur where some Spinosaurus (with short hindlegs and a kink in the sail) appear but only as background animals, and don't even interact with the heroes.
- One Piece: Page One, one of the villains of the Wano Arc, has the power to turn into a Spinosaurus. The introduction of his Spinosaurus form came before the discovery of the paddle tail, but he was retconned with the more accurate tail afterward. Being fully-terrestrial is a requirement in this case, as Devil Fruit users are innately incapable of swimming.
- Reborn! (2004): The villainous Kikyou has Spinosaurus-related powers.
Comic Books
- Age of Reptiles: Downplayed with the protagonist Spinosaurus from "Ancient Egyptians". While it mostly acts like a normal animal, it can still be highly vicious at times, notably when he murders the offspring of a female Spinosaurus in the hope of mating with her.
- Disney Ducks Comic Universe: In the Don Rosa story "Return to Forbidden Valley", Scrooge and his nephews are at one point hunted down by a Spinosaurus which is pretty eager to eat them. Since the story was written in the 1990s, this spinosaur is depicted as a carnosaur with a sail on its back as was commonly believed at the time.
- Fantastic Four: In issue 345, a Spinosaurus attacks the Fantastic Four and some military soldiers. Since the issue is from 1990, the Spino's head is more similar to that of a T. rex than to the real animal.
- Flesh: Spinosaurus appear among the various predatory dinosaurs that overrun the Trans-Time base. Notably, this comic predates most other appearances of Spinosaurus in fiction by almost 25 years.
- Jungle Girl: The titular heroine is confronted to a very aggressive Spinosaurus (that looks suspiciously similar to the one from Jurassic Park III) in the first two issues.
- Jurassic League: Aquaman is a Baryonyx and while still a hero, is characterized as more ruthless in comparison to the other Dinosaur heroes.
Eastern European Animation
- Pangea – The Neverending World: A terrifying Spinosaurus appears at the end of the film, where it tries to devour a baby T. rex.
Fan Works
- It's not the Raptor DNA: Carnifex, son of the spinosaurus from Jurassic Park III, is an Ax-Crazy killer with severe mental instability who always loves to violently fight and has zero respect for tyrannosaurus rex. Rather fittingly, he's also the personal pet of current InGen CEO Daemon Bridges, the closest thing the story has to an overall Big Bad.
- The Bridge: Subverted the trope with the Lost World RPG
taking the place of The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The Spinosaurus from Jurassic Park III, nicknamed "Snoke" by the players, is the apex predator of Isla Sorna. While it does menace the group when they stumble into its territory, as it chases down and wrecks the mobile trailers, it becomes something of an Anti-Hero as it kills the insane mercenary whom was chasing the expedition group. Later the players accidentally summoned it during the confrontation with the game's final boss, an Ultimasaurus, and Snoke engages the hybrid in a Behemoth Battle. Knowing the Spinosaurus was the only thing that stood a chance at beating the hybrid, the expedition team help tilt the odds in Snoke's favor so he score a narrow victory. Afterwards, with no reason to attack the players, the Spinosaurus leaves peacefully.
- Completely inverted in Dinosaur King Retold, where Spiny the Spinosaurus is now a member of the D-Team rather than the Alpha Gang. He's also characterized as a Nice Guy who's a bit of a Cloudcuckoolander, but is more than capable of saving the day if required.
- Played with in Prehistoric Park Reimagined. The spinosaurs featured are largely portrayed as simple animals trying to survive or likewise obeying their instincts both in the wild and in their subsequent new homes at the titular zoo. The spinosaurus, however, are nonetheless portrayed as animals that are very much not to be messed with lightly, if at all; particularly since they are hungry enough at the time to not only duel against carcharodontosaurus for the sake of opportunistically eating meat from an iguanodont carcass rather than spend large amounts of time trying to find the fish they usually like to eat, but also to swallow rescue team leader Drew after he interrupts their efforts at acquiring the iguanodont meat and proves luckless enough to be standing within their reach after they decide to give up the carcass as a result of said interruption.
Films — Animated
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Rudy the giant, albino Baryonyx, is The Dreaded to most of the residents of the Lost World (even Momma T-rex) and is Buck the weasel's eternal nemesis.
- The Land Before Time:
- A Spinosaurus serves as the main antagonist of The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers.
- The villains in The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends are a pack of Baryonyx (albeit very inaccurately portrayed).
- Return to the Lost World (2017) is a British CGI short film in which the main character Bob finds himself on a dinosaur island and is chased by a ferocious Spinosaurus.
Films — Live-Action
- Age of Dinosaurs: A Spinosaurus is one of the dinos rampaging through Los Angeles in the climax. It climbs a building before being shot down by the military.
- The Hatchling ends with a Suchomimus menacing the cast, eating a dog one of them owns.
- Jurassic Park:
- Jurassic Park III may very well be the Trope Codifier, with an antagonistic persistently predatory Spinosaurus acting as the film's Big Bad. After surviving the first attack, Alan and Billy mention that the Spinosaurus was never on InGen's officially disclosed list of the various species they had bred on the island, which makes Alan wonder what else they've been hiding. Supplementary material implies that it acted the way it did because of torturous experimentation in its youth.
- Smaller spinosaurid Baryonyx pops up in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. One attempts to eat Claire and Franklin, whilst another is auctioned off at Lockwood Manor.
- Jurassic World Dominion has a juvenile Baryonyx using its jaws to decapitate Rainn Delacourt.
- Transformers: Age of Extinction: Scorn the Dinobot turns into a mechanical Spinosaurus. While a hero (mostly), he's unarguably a savage who only submits to Optimus Prime's leadership after Optimus beats Grimlock in single combat. In battle, he delights in the destruction he can cause with his sword and sail spines.
Literature
- Dinotopia mostly averts this, with spinosaurids being portrayed no differently from other dinosaurs. Played very straight with Jagga, the Suchomimus antagonist of the novel Survive!, however. As one supporting character says, "Jagga thinks life is killing and devouring."
- Animorphs: Megamorphs #2 has the team going back in time, where Rachel and Tobias meet a pair of spinosauri. The pair immediately decide to attack and try to eat them, even in the time travelers' Deinonychus morphs, and don't give up until one gets knocked out by a stun gun carried by a member of an alien race that happens to have a base nearby.
- Inverted in Spiny, a childrens' book where a Spinosaurus family is the main focus, and are depicted positively.
Live-Action TV
- Monsters Resurrected: The first episode has an incredibly oversizednote Spinosaurus as an invincible monster that brutally kills all other creatures it encounters, including other giant theropods and an enormous crocodile, with only a single swipe of its claws. The documentary itself goes out of its way to describe how Spinosaurus may as well have been the ultimate predatory dinosaur.
- Planet Dinosaur: The first episode revolves around Spinosaurus, showing it hunting giant sawfish-like skates and later getting into a fight (which it wins) with a Carcharodontosaurus over a carcass during a drought. However, it is zig-zagged in that the Spinosaurus is portrayed as no more malicious than any other predator and its death at the end (implied to be a result of its injuries from the abovementioned fight) is portrayed in a tragic light.
- Primeval: Zig-zagged. Whilst a Spinosaurus appears as the villain in the fourth season premiere, it doesn't seem to be trying to eat anyone in spite of being a huge predator; it's just dangerous because it's a large, panicked animal in a populated area. When Conner and Abby wind up trapped in the past with the Spinosaurus, they seem to successfully establish a territory next to its that it stays out of. If it catches them out of their territory it will chase them back, but stops at the boundary.
- Terra Nova: Downplayed in "Nightfall". An Empirosaurus (a fictional cousin of Spinosaurus) attacks Terra Nova, but only because it was scared and hurt by the Sixers.
- Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger: The summer movie Gaburincho of Music introduces Zyudenryu Tobaspino, the first of the twenty-four Zyudenryu, which gets taken over by Ferocious Knight D (AKA "Deathryuger"), and serves as the main threat of the film. Even free of his control and allied with the team later in the series, Tobaspino is the most brutal of the Zyudenryu, as it forcibly seizes other Zyudenryu in a "Forced Biting Combination" to transform into a Zyuden Giant, which Daigo notes as it playing rougher than even Gabutyra.
Tabletop Games
- Dungeons & Dragons: Spinosaurus appears in the 3.0 Monster Manual 2 as a larger and more powerful dinosaur than the Tyrannosaurus (which appeared in the core Monster Manual). In addition to being a Gargantuan creature instead of a Huge one (thus larger than a Tyrannosaurus by the game's rules), it is also stronger, has powerful claw attacks in addition to its bite, and is able to unleash a Mighty Roar that induces the Frightened condition. It's also noted in the flavor text as being far more aggressive.
- Warhammer: The forests of Lustria are home to numerous creatures that are dinosaurs in all but name (and the main reason there are no dragons in Lustria). One of the deadliest is the Troglodon, a spinosaur-like terrestrial creature that dwells in grottos and compensating its blindness with using whiskers and its tongue to track down prey. They are vicious and territorial creatures who will attack unprovoked, the only exceptions being fork-tailed Skinks who can instantly tame them.
Video Games
- ARK: Survival Evolved:
- A variant of Spinosaurus, dubbed Spinosaurus aquareliga, is depicted as an intelligent and versatile hypercarnivore that feeds on both aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, regardless of size. Its divergence from its real life counterpart is actually justified here, however, in that this Spino evolved its more formidable characteristics due to living on an island full of animals just as dangerous as it is (Extinction retcons this with the reveal that all ARK creatures are genetically-engineered to reclaim Earth from The Corruption). It should be notable that, unlike most depictions, this Spinosaurus follows the newer reconstructions as short-legged and semi-aquatic.
- Baryonyx appears as well, and is very popular as a mount for water or caves due to its small size, relatively high attack power, fair jump distance, and ability to stun-lock swimming creatures with a spin attack. Unlike Spinosaurus, it cannot eat red meat, only fish (or kibble).
- Carnivores: The sequel and its updated port, Dinosaur Hunter has Spinosaurus as one of the huntable dinosaurs and as a carnivore, it would immediately register you as prey if caught on sight. Amusingly, it is far smaller than the actual animal is, given the fact that it is hunted in-between Velociraptor and Ceratosaurus (the latter turns out to be bigger, no less).
- Dino Crisis 3 has the player face off against a spinosaurus bioengineered for amphibiousness dubbed the Miaplacidus twice, which has three methods of attack: spitting high-pressure jets of water, bitting or clawing and swimming towards the player.
- Horizon Forbidden West: The Slaughterspine is a combat machine with a design inspired by the spinosaurus, armed with an array of spine-shaped plasma cannons along its back and tail and a plasma beam launcher in its mouth, with its Apex counterpart being the highest-levelled machine in the game. This makes it stronger and even more deadly than its T. Rexpy counterpart, the Thunderjaw. However, they don't spawn near each other so Spinosaurus Versus T. rex is averted... Until the Burning Shores DLC, which places a Thunderjaw and Slaughterspine next to each other, allowing players with the override codes to finally pit the two against each other.
- Jurassic Park:
- Warpath: Jurassic Park predates Jurassic Park III in depicting Spinosaurus, and portrays it as a smaller theropod with a typical carnosaur-shaped head.
- Any video game tie-in to Jurassic Park III is bound to have the Spinosaurus either as the main antagonist or as the last and most powerful opponent to fight in a game.
- Jurassic Park III: The Arcade: The Spinosaurus is the first boss of the game, but doesn't stop there, soon tailing you behind as the second boss and persisting until the end, being the penultimate and last boss.
- Jurassic Park III: Island Attack: The Spinosaurus is encountered early in the game and starts chasing Alan Grant in a segment that is meant to teach players how to dash. After that, it doesn't make an appearance until the last level where the chase is longer and more strenuous.
- Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor: Spinosaurus is the last dinosaur to be encountered and is treated as a boss where it advances towards the Player Character at the treetops in an attempt to lunge towards it with a series of bites. Unusually, it uses its sail as a thrusting weapon, an aspect that obviously cannot be applied realistically to the dinosaur in any way.
- Jurassic Park: Dinosaur Battles: The Spinosaurus is one of the six usable dinosaurs in the game, although it is the last one to be obtained. Two different types also serve as strong enemies in the last map of the game. The Final Boss is the Prime Spinosaurus personally commanded by Dr. Corts who manages to provide a tough challenge (unless you're playing as the Ankylosaurus).
- A predating example of the above comes from the PS1 tie-in game of The Lost World where Baryonyx is the primary enemy of the first level of "The Hunter's" segment of the game. While strong and durable, the Hunter's variable weapon arsenal allows him to quickly dispatch of them.
- Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis: While one of the most popular dinosaurs to exhibit, the Spinosaurus is also one of the most difficult to manage. It is a temperamental and territorial animal that, like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, demands that it needs live food for hunting and can quickly enter a Dino Rampage if left unchecked.
- Jurassic World: Evolution: The list of spinosaurids that can be cloned for a potential Jurassic World are Spinosaurus, Baryonyx and Suchomimus. Downplayed in comparison to the other depictions as they can be sociable to members of their own kind and their social needs can be enhanced via the Secrets of Dr. Wu DLC, and as far as other carnivores are concerned, all of them have a more tame stress level compared to the Hair-Trigger Temper of several large and smaller carnivores, making the spinosaurids less prone to trying to break out of their enclosure during a storm. That said, they are predators who will prey on other dinosaurs just as much as they do towards fish.
- Played straight with the Spinoraptor, a hybrid clone of the Spinosaurus and the Velociraptor who proves itself to be just as aggressive as its other hybrid contemporaries, the Indominus Rex and the Indoraptor.
- Jurassic: The Hunted: A Spinosaurus nicknamed Spike is the final boss that relentlessly chases the heroes. At one point, it battles and kills a T. rex.
- ORION: Prelude: Spinosaurus is one of two large theropods in the game, alongside the T. rex and is a vicious opponent that takes a lot of hits and is a persistent threat if encountered. The game's "Rampage Mode" also encourages players to play as dinosaurs, including Spinosaurus and to wreak as much havoc as possible.
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introduce the Ice/Dragon-types Frigibax, Arctibax, and Baxcalibur, who can use their sails as bladed weapons.
- Primal Carnage: Spinosaurus is one of three dinosaurs that represent the "Tank" class, alongside Tyrannosaurus rex and Acrocanthosaurus. As the name suggests, they are meant to be the powerhouse of the dinosaur faction of the game, compensating speed for strong attacks and defense. In regards to distinguishing itself from its contemporaries, Spinosaurus has more use of its arms and its roar raises fellow dinosaurs' defense. That said, it is the slowest out of the three.
- Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase: The tie-in video game feature several Spinosaurus (though they could also be the lesser known Acrocanthosaurus, given their shorter skulls and sails) appear as some of the most dangerous enemies in the prehistoric level.
- Zoo Tycoon: Spinosaurus is an adoptable dinosaur in the original game with the installation of the Dinosaur Digs expansion pack, which was released around the same time as Jurassic Park III. While it also has been rendered outdated and inaccurate due to Science Marches On, it averts the Spinosaurus Versus T. rex trope due to being coded to always lose when pitted against a T.rex (which is the most powerful animal in the game, only the Deinosuchus having a chance against it). However, it's still extremely aggressive and will repeatedly attack the electric fences required to contain it.
Web Animation
- Dinosaur Office: Some Spinosaurus appear in a few episodes. Although they are a bit more civilized than most of the other examples on this page, they are still perfectly capable of attacking and devouring other characters when they are angry.
Web Video
- One of the Starter Pokemon from Pokemon Amber can evolve into a Spinosaurus-based form called Spinozar who while difficult to tame at the start, can form a strong bond with you. It's Spliced-variant on the other hand, is far more destructive and uncontrollable.
Western Animation
- Dink, the Little Dinosaur: A pack of Spinosaurus threatens the protagonists in the episode "Mystery of the Broken Claw". In another episode, a Baryonyx tries to eat Crusty. Notably, this series aired in the '80s, before we knew much about spinosaur anatomy or that the two species were even related, so Spinosaurus is depicted as a generic carnosaur with a sail and walking in the old-fashioned tripod stance, while Baryonyx is depicted as a quadruped, and a specialized turtle hunter (even though its narrow jaws were hardly suited for cracking shells).
- Dino Squad: Averted with Fiona who turns into a Spinosaurus but is still one of the good guys.
- Dinosaur Train: Subverted in "The Old Spinosaurus and the Sea". When Buddy and his family go to the Big Misty Seas, they are worried about the Spinosaurus who lives there. However, when they meet him, he turns out to be a mostly friendly guy (if a bit grumpy) who only eats fish.
- Dinotrux: Shredadons are the species of Dinotrux who are half-Suchomimus and half-scrap metal shredder. They are very territorial species of Dinotrux who are even feared by scrap collectors due to their shredding mechanism rendering any unlucky Trux into the show equivalent of ludicrous gibs. This trope however gets subverted by one Shredadon who ultimately becomes friends with Ty and the gang after Ace repairs his trademark shredding mechanism.
- Gigantosaurus: The Season 2 finale introduces Spino who arrives to terrorize Cretacia.
- Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous introduces a trio of Baryonyx who hunt as a pack. When one is shot and killed, the other two specifically hunt down and kill the culprit. Season 4, meanwhile, reintroduces the Spinosaurus from Jurassic Park III.
- Justice League Action: Some Spinosaurus are among the dinosaurs that ravage Booster's park in the episode "Booster's Gold".
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
- In the episode "Tempus Fugit" of the 2003 series, the heroes are sent to prehistoric times and are promptly attacked by a Spinosaurus.
- A robotic Spinosaurus is used by the Triceratons to fight the turtles in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles special Half-Shell Heroes: Blast to the Past.
- Teen Titans (2003): The Jurassic Park III example is homaged in the final arc of season 4, when Beast Boy, Starfire and Cyborg have to fight evil duplicates of themselves. At one point Beast Boy transforms into a T. rex, while his evil clone transforms into a Spinosaurus to fight back.
