In Popular Culture
Velociraptor, a dromaeosaurid, gained much attention after it was featured prominently in the 1993 Steven Spielberg film Jurassic Park. However, the dimensions of the Velociraptor in the film are much larger than the largest members of that genus. Robert Bakker recalled that Spielberg had been disappointed with the dimensions of Velociraptor and so upsized it, adding that soon afterwards he named Utahraptor which was more the size depicted, or larger. Gregory S. Paul, in his book Predatory Dinosaurs of the World, considered Deinonychus antirrhopus a species of Velociraptor, and so rechristened the species Velociraptor antirrhopus. This taxonomic opinion has not been widely followed.
Read more about this topic: Dromaeosauridae
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