【Thailand Archives】

Spoilers ahead,Thailand Archives but they're very small, like Compsognathus.

Chris Pratt has the abs, smile, and square jaw. But the real hero of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is Stiggy the Stygimoloch.

Yes, the adorable dinosaur headbutted its way into our hearts by saving our heroes and kicking villain butt, and yes, Stygimolochwas a real creature.

SEE ALSO: More is more in 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'

The herbivore had a dome on its head, probably for defense against predators and battling each other for mates. Stygimoloch is also an excellent name for a metal band. (Itroughly translates to "Styx demon.")

Another reason Stygimolochwas so badass: It had big horns on its head, which were probably very useful for not getting eaten.

"If you're a T. rexthat wants to bite this guy's head off, you're going to do it with a certain amount of risk," said paleontologist Pete Larson, president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research.

It was relatively small, about 3 feet tall at the hip and 7 to 10 feet long. Discovered in North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, it lived alongside some of the greats — Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Ornithomimus, and Dakotaraptor — during the late Cretaceous Period. So late, in fact, that it was around during the extinction event that killed off the dinosaurs.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

"When the asteroid hit, some of these guys were around to look up at the sky and say, 'Oh crap, what's that?'" joked Larson. (Luckily, Stiggy only had to deal with an active volcano.)

Some paleontologists, including Jack Horner, who served as an adviser to the Jurassic Parkfilms, have theorized Stygimolochwas just a juvenilePachycephalosaurus. Larson disagrees, claiming the number and orientation of their horns are too different.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

OK, get ready for a very minimal spoiler, if you can spoil a movie where a raptor jumps away from an explosion like Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

Remember that scene where Stiggy smashes through a brick wall and prison door to free Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard from their cell?

Via Giphy

It seemed pretty ludicrous. And it was, as far as plot goes. Buuut, actually, said Larson, it might be possible. The dinosaur's thick dome -- made of porous bone -- was a very good shock absorber, so a 200-pound Stygimoloch running full speed could have "potentially" broken down a brick wall. Still, scientists haven't studied the matter, so we can't know for sure.

Not that it should matter. I mean, compared to some other scenes in the movie, the Stiggy jailbreak was very realistic. (Let's not even talk about that blood transfusion.)

Larson said his colleagues often criticize the science in the Jurassic Parkand Jurassic Worldmovies. He doesn't take them so seriously.

"It's a movie," he said. "These things are genetically engineered, they're not necessarily what they were when they were living [in the Cretaceous Period]. Just enjoy it, have fun, and watch these dinosaurs move and do cool things."

Yeah, cool things like smash stuff. Long live Stiggy.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Jeff Goldblum is back in the amazing 'Jurassic World Evolution' video game

---

• Shopping
• Social Good
• Life
• Games
• Entertainment
• Deals
• Science
• Tech

• Virtual Reality: The True Cost of Admission (and Why It Doesn't Matter)
• How do you pronounce the weirdest emoticon on the internet? The debate continues to rage
• Does YouTube radicalize users? This study says not —but it's deeply flawed.
• Tesla rolls out a holiday software update
• Amazon Pet Day: All the best deals
• 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' has a 'Harry Potter Cursed Child' problem
• 'You' Season 2 finale: What the hell just happened?
• This Twitter game imagines a world where movie actors are replaced by Muppets
• 'Severance' puts a spin on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth in its Season 2 finale
• It's time to talk about how Star Wars treated Chewbacca like crap

• De Minaur vs. Djokovic 2024 livestream: Watch Wimbledon for free
• China’s legacy automaker warns of profit plunge amid price war · TechNode
• Tesla, Xpeng, and more launch new discounts after Chinese New Year holidays · TechNode
• Students must swap their smartphones for Nokias at an elite UK school
• Japanese billionaire cancels private SpaceX moon mission, crew devastated
• Yes, big spiders are spreading in the U.S. No, they're not flying.
• Best AirPods deal: Get a pair of AirPods (2nd gen) for just $69 at Amazon right now
• NASA rover discovers mysterious Mars boulder unlike any others
• Ne Zha 2 becomes highest
• Xiaomi PR chief says Xiaomi Glasses Weibo account was registered years ago · TechNode

• Best JBL deal: Save $80 on JBL Xtreme 4 portable speaker
• Does YouTube radicalize users? This study says not —but it's deeply flawed.
• 'You' Season 2 hides its best twists in book symbolism and easter eggs
• Superhero comics creators: we're political, and always have been
• Keeping Hope Alive
• Soccer star punches himself in the face 9 times, instantly becomes meme
• The internet finds a brilliant way to troll Sean Spicer and his green tie
• iPhone photography is about to help these adorable animals get adopted
• NYT Connections hints and answers for May 18: Tips to solve 'Connections' #707.
• Everything to remember from 'YOU' Season 1

• How to unblock Xnxx for free
• It's time to talk about how Star Wars treated Chewbacca like crap
• Does YouTube radicalize users? This study says not —but it's deeply flawed.
• 10 'Saturday Night Live' sketches that made us scream in 2019
• Researchers map the koala genome in the name of saving the species
• Obama praises book that slams his White House for its Google relationship
• People are angry after this airport sniffer dog was shot when it got loose
• Tesla rolls out a holiday software update
• Best Max streaming deal: Save 20% on annual subscriptions
• Google now lets you invite a giant AR Santa into your home for the holidays