The return of Netflix’s animated series Jurassic World: Chaos Theory has brought with it the appearance of a terrifying dinosaur that’s brand new to the series. However, fans of the Jurassic Park franchise will recognize this predator from the 2022 live-action movie Jurassic World Dominion. The feathered Pyroraptor is a smallish carnivorous dinosaur defined by its distinctive feathers and half-winged front limbs. Although it’s not the biggest dinosaur, it makes up for its size in ferocious aggression.

We first see the Pyroraptor in all its malevolent glory during episode 4 of scary moment is actually part of Chaos Theory’s sweetest subplot, as Nonna defends Smoothie, an adorable baby dinosaur that she initially detested, from being eaten by the Pyroraptor. Nonna’s heroic actions come before the first of two hair-raising fight scenes in the season, which make the Pyroraptor the center of attention.

The Pyroraptor Is Even Scarier In Chaos Theory Than Jurassic World Dominion

Chaos Theory Makes It Look More Menacing Than Comical

It was Jurassic World Dominion which first introduced the Pyroraptor, a predatory dinosaur discovered by paleontologists in the year 2000, to the Jurassic franchise. Three years ago, we saw this strange-looking winged hybrid between a land and sea animal send Chris Pratt’s Jurassic World character Owen Grady flailing into the freezing depths of an ice-covered lake, before it suddenly demonstrated an ability to swim at frighteningly high speeds. Grady survived this brief but disturbing encounter with the Pyroraptor thanks to the heroism of Kayla Watts, but now the dinosaur has returned scarier than ever in Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.

The red plume of feathers on top of the Pyroraptor's head is more pronounced in Chaos Theory, as is its shock of bright orange, feathery down, and powerful jaw lined with razor-sharp, meat-eating teeth.

Unlike the Pyroraptor in Jurassic World Dominion, which looks somewhat comical due to its ungainly way of moving across a photorealistic landscape, Chaos Theory’s newest dinosaur looks genuinely horrifying. The red plume of feathers on top of its head is more pronounced, as is its shock of bright orange, feathery down, and powerful jaw lined with razor-sharp, meat-eating teeth.

The Pyroraptor is strong enough to fight off three Atrociraptors at once when they arrive at the scene of Nonna’s finest hour. It takes center stage again when it sniffs around the car of her granddaughter Gia, as well as for a chase sequence in the snow-covered hills around her village. On the other hand, we don’t see the Pyroraptor swimming underwater in Jurassic World’s Netflix animation, because scientists are skeptical about the animal’s ability to do so, contrary to what Jurassic World Dominion suggests.

Dinosaurs Like The Pyroraptor Work Better In Animation Than Live-Action

The Pyroraptor’s Strange Appearance Is Hard To Render Convincingly In A Real Setting

A big part of the reason the Pyroraptor is scarier in Jurassic World: Chaos Theory than it is in Jurassic World Dominion is that its appearance lends itself more to an animated setting. This is a dinosaur that’s covered in brightly-colored feathers and appears to be halfway through the process of evolving the ability to fly. It has the gait of a small bird, but the face of a much bigger dinosaur, and a taste for the flesh of whatever creature it lays eyes on.

Given these characteristics, the Pyroraptor sounds almost like a mythical creature from a fantasy story, which is very difficult to render convincingly in a live-action setting using CGI. The dinosaur looks less out of place against an animated backdrop, which itself presents more of an artificial appearance. The medium of animation is an advantage that Jurassic World: Chaos Theory has over its live-action counterparts in the case of many particularly odd-looking dinosaurs. Nevertheless, the Pyroraptor is surely one of the show’s most fascinating new introductions yet.