From movies to museum exhibits, the dinosaur Dilophosaurus is no stranger to pop culture.

The dinosaur in the movie is mostly imagination, but a new comprehensive analysis of Dilophosaurus fossils is helping to set the record straight.

The analysis was published open access today (July 7, 2020) in the Journal of Paleontology.

“It’s pretty much the best, worst-known dinosaur,” said lead author Adam Marsh.

Seeking answers to these questions, Marsh conducted an analysis of the five most-complete Dilophosaurus specimens while earning his Ph.D.

The analysis is co-authored by Jackson School Professor Timothy Rowe, who discovered two of the five Dilophosaurus specimens that were studied.

That fossil was rebuilt with plaster, but the 1954 paper describing the find isn’t clear about what was reconstructed — a fact that makes it difficult to determine how much of the early work was based on the actual fossil record, Marsh said.

“They’re kind of like bubble wrap — the bone is protected and strengthened,” Marsh said.

The right hind leg of Dilophosaurus wetherilli, collected under permit from the Navajo Nation, and housed in trust at the Texas Vertebrate Paleontology Collections at The University of Texas at Austin.

All the specimens Marsh examined came from the Kayenta Formation in Arizona and belong to the Navajo Nation.

The revised Dilophosaurus record will help paleontologists better identify specimens going forward.

“We realized that it wasn’t a new type of dinosaur, but a juvenile Dilophosaurus, which is really cool,” Marsh said.

Field work on the Navajo Nation was conducted under a permit from the Navajo Nation Minerals Department.

Any persons wishing to conduct geological investigations on the Navajo Nation must first apply for and receive a permit from the Navajo Nation Minerals Department, P.O

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July 5, 2020