BARYONYX

Baryonyx walkeri

Etymology: Walker's heavy claw

Nickname: "Bary"

Classification: Carnosauria, Spinosauridae

Diet: Carnivore

Size: 11 meters long

Provenance: Smokejack Clay Pit, England, UK - Early Cretaceous, Hauterivian-Barremian stage, 130 - 125 million years ago

Movie appearances: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018); Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)

Baryonyx walkeri, whose name means "Walker's heavy claw" is a spinosaurid carnosaur, a member of the same family as Suchomimus and Spinosaurus. It was described based on a holotype specimen that appears to have been immature and not reflective of the animal's full body size when alive, possessing also a hump on its back, as an adult. The shape of its snout is very crocodilian-like, which is consistent with a partially fish-eating diet. Its dense bones allow this dinosaur to swim and even dive in deep water.

Baryonyx is brown colored, with an aquamarine eyespot and some brown patches on the body, which is covered in feathers (also present on the arms and tail), but there are phenotypes that display yellow stripes on their back, legs, tail and underbelly, with some having additional feathers growing on top of their head too.

Baryonyx have been shown to be cooperative hunters, often forming small hunting groups. Their social bonds are strong and have seen engaging in vengeful actions against other animals that have offended or killed their peers.

Baryonyx was resurrected in Isla Sorna, with InGen creating five individuals of these dinosaurs. A paddock in Jurassic Park was created for them, with the future intention of including them in the park, being located near a river with a supply of fish for them to eat. However, after Hurricane Clarissa, the status of Baryonyx was left ambiguous, though it has been postulated that the low competition that existed in freshwater areas of the island would have provided them with the conditions for thriving in the wild, at least before Spinosaurus was created and introduced in Isla Sorna. In 2001, a crew of people crashlanded on Isla Sorna, and saw an aggressive Spinosaurus, but at the time they were debating on the identity of their perpetrator, considering it as a possible Baryonyx for a time. Later when Jurassic World was established in Isla Nublar, Baryonyx were successfully included in the park, living alongside Suchomimus in the Cretaceous Cruise. However, after the collapse of Jurassic World, Baryonyx and Suchomimus were left to live in the wild in the island, up until 2018, when Mount Sibo approached eruption, and volcanic gases started poisoning their water sources and killing off fish, threatening their population. During the eruption of Mount Sibo, Claire Dearing and Franklin Webb encountered a Baryonyx who tried to attack them, even when a slush of lava grazed its skin as it dropped from the ceiling. About four Baryonyx were captured ilegally by Eli Mills' mercenary team and brought to Lockwood Manor for auction, only for some of them to later escape from the manor and into the american wilderness.

Feral Baryonyx would later be the subject of many encounters with local people. They also interacted with several dinosaurs, including predators like Australovenator. Baryonyx used its keen senses of sight and hearing to locate its prey in secluded regions, giving it an advantage in hunting without being easily seen. In some situations, humans have been found to tame and control Baryonyx. None of these trained Baryonyx are known to be alive in the present, however. In Malta, it has been reported that an underground night market had a fighting pit where a juvenile Baryonyx was often placed to fight against other resurrected Mesozoic creatures, like a juvenile Allosaurus also resident to the market. In 2022, Rainn Delacourt, a dinosaur poacher and employee of Soyona Santos fell in the pit where the Baryonyx was located and it proceeded to attack him. It is unknown if this individual managed to break free from its enclosure, or if it was captured and brought to another location. It is believed that it probably was aprehended in the surrounding city of Malta and transported to a safe facility for non-avian dinosaurs, like the Biosyn Sanctuary. Baryonyx would remain a formidably respected dinosaur in museums and attractions, even when its status as a wild dinosaur became defunct.

FILM vs. REALITY

The film Baryonyx differs substantially from its real life counterpart. One of the main aspects from the film reconstruction that would have been quite erroneous to depict in the real life Baryonyx is a row of dorsal scutes and spikes around its back, resembling a crocodylomorph, which would be unexpected for a theropod of this caliber, as spinosaurids are not known to have bony osteoderms or large scutes on their dorso at all. The skull of the film Baryonyx is very robust, but the real life Baryonyx had a more slender skull, and more straight teeth, and likely had some soft lips to cover the mouthline. Additionally, the real life Baryonyx had a crest on its head, which the film lacks. The real life Baryonyx likely also had a slight hump on its back, which the film also lacks. The size of the Baryonyx in the film is quite variable, but usually quite consistent with the fossils we know of, especially the holotype, but we know the holotype likely represents an immature individual, and the largest fully mature individuals of this species might likely have grown much larger. The integument of Baryonyx depicted in the film is rather scaly and bumpy, however we have very little fossil evidence that clue us on the actual integument of spinosaurids, with the possibly related Sciurumimus possibly suggesting us that these animals could be covered in simple hair-like feathers instead.

While Baryonyx is often regarded as a piscivore in both scientific and fictional grounds, fossil evidence shows us that these dinosaurs would be capable predators of terrestrial prey, with dinosaur bones being associated with Baryonyx. With sizeable legs for walking and running, as well as a relatively straight skull and relatively even dentition (at least compared to more derived spinosaurids like Spinosaurus), Baryonyx appears well suited to hunt terrestrial prey in equal fashion as it would go for aquatic prey, being opportunistic enough to dominate both environments, considering as well that its environment was seasonal and likely suffered through severe droughts, inevitably forcing Baryonyx to adapt to a terrestrial-based diet in times of need. This palate for terrestrial prey is reflected in the films, accurately, as Baryonyx are repeatedly seen going after humans and going through great lengths to try and hunt them.