All 15 Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Animals In Adam Driver’s 65 Movie
65 boasts an incredible number of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals to add to the excitement and danger of the sci-fi thriller, though it should be noted that several are more inspired by them than based in reality. The movie begins with Captain Mills (Adam Driver) piloting a transport ship carrying colonists, but the multi-year mission, which he hopes will pay for his ill daughter’s expensive health care, is interrupted by space debris around a remote planet. The ship crash lands on the surface below and splits in two, with Mills and a young girl named Koa the only survivors on what turns out to be Earth 65 million years ago.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
The pair decide to make the trek to the other half of the ship that contains the only viable escape pod they can use to get off-world, a perilous journey that finds them hunted by a series of prehistoric predators. When they aren’t trying to avoid getting eaten, they’re fending off alien flora, insects, and disease. When they learn that an asteroid is going to impact the planet at any point, the unlikely duo have to rely on each other to make it to the journey’s end and not join the dinosaurs in becoming extinct.
15 Tyrannosaurus Rex
It’s not surprising that one of the most well-known of all dinosaurs, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, looms large over the movie, and 65 continues Jurassic World’s best dinosaur fix by making sure to include true-to-life elements like feathers. Initially, the T. Rex is seen as an ominous-looking skeleton, foreshadowing several harrowing interactions (including a chilling scene behind a waterfall) that add to the overwhelming sense of dread for Mills and Koa as it tracks them through the mountains. The threat doubles when two of the apex predators almost prevent Mills and his ward from making it to the escape pod.
14 Woolly Mammoth
While a living mammoth isn’t seen in 65, its remains add some suspenseful ambiance as Captain Mills explores the swampland. Its skeleton, complete with tusks, can be seen as he wanders through what amounts to a graveyard and a T. Rex buffet. The T. Rex might have lived 65 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous Period, but woolly mammoths didn’t appear until millions of years later in the Pleistocene Period.
13 Nothosaurus
One of the most prominent predators that Mills and Koa face is the Nothosaurus, a reptile originally from the Triassic Period. It resembles something between a reptile and an aquatic entity, and first appears when Koa rests in the forest. Persistent predators, some Nothosaurus chase the pair far beyond where they initially stopped to gather resources, and end up being dogmatic threats.
RELATED: 65’s Budget Explained & How Much It Made At The Box Office
12 Deinosuchus
The Deinosuchus is a prehistoric relative of alligators and crocodiles that makes an appearance during an ocean sequence with Mills and Koa. The hulking aquatic creature lived up to 82 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period, and could get as large as 40 or 50 feet. This made it similar in size to the T. Rex, attacking from below to grab anything on the surface of the water, and anything it missed it would chase down for a short distance on land.
11 Fasolasuchus
Fasolasuchus can be seen at various points in 65, either moving in packs through the landscape, or competing with a rampaging T. Rex. They’re considered one of the largest terrestrial predators that weren’t a dinosaur and could grow to be 30 feet long. One surprises Captain Mills and Koa in the gas swamps at one point, but thanks to their resourcefulness and quick thinking they’re able to evade and outrun it.
10 Velociraptor
A popular figure in pop culture thanks to the Jurassic Park franchise, velociraptors are featured in 65 with a few distinct changes from the other franchise. The velociraptors are more agile and bird-like in their appearance, with what looks like feathers on their scales. They hunt in packs and try to work together to hunt Mills and Koa, but the pair avoid them by hiding in a series of caves.
RELATED: Adam Driver’s 65 Proves A Harsh Reality About Dinosaur Movies
9 Dsungaripterus
65 does have a winged dinosaur called the Dsungaripterus, a genus of the pterosaur that has a wingspan of roughly 10 feet.The Dsungaripterus lived during the Early Cretaceous Period, and mostly consumed fish and other sea life on the surface of oceans. Though it lived among many prominent dinosaurs, it wasn’t considered one.
8 Parasaurolophus
One of the most distinct-looking dinosaurs on screen is the Parasaurolophus, which has a duck-bill and lived during the Late Cretaceous Period. Perhaps because it’s an herbivore and therefore wouldn’t provide much of a threat, only the carcass of one of these dinosaurs is seen in 65. It was about 30 feet long when walking as a quadruped and as a biped, had a standing height of about 15 feet.
7 Jakapil
A Jakapil is an armored dinosaur that according to the Washington Post was first discovered in the last ten years and appears in the film as a baby. Despite looking fearsome, the Jakapil was an herbivore when it roamed what is now Argentina in the Late Cretaceous Period, and could act in a territorial manner towards intruders when it felt threatened. The Jakapil was roughly the size of a dog, but when pressed, could cause damage by lining up the base of its skull with its spine and turning itself into a miniature battering ram.
6 Pectinodon
These small, turkey-like dinosaurs that are part of the troodontid genus often moved in flocks and had a diet filled with variety, including fish, frogs, flora, insects, and small reptiles. They’re seen throughout 65 and are one of the few dinosaurs to fully feature plumage from the Late Cretaceous Period. Primarily nocturnal, they had acute vision and hearing that made them excellent night scavengers.
5 Oviraptor
Oviraptors, with their fin-like head crests and nimble bodies, make their big debut in 65 attacking Mills in the cave sequence. They primarily ate crustaceans and mollusks and were probably covered in more feathers than they appear to be in the film. Their jaws were ideal for crushing anything that had a hard shell, and they sat on clutches of eggs just like birds, and are quite territorial in the film as Captain Mills gets close to their breeding area.
4 Prehistoric Beetle
Many things were bigger 65 million years ago, including insects. Prehistoric beetles of various genus could be six inches to a foot long, and the ones seen in 65 attacking Koa maximize the terror of being attacked by a bug the size of a tennis shoe. Most of the known prehistoric beetles date back 230 million years ago and have been preserved in dinosaur droppings.
3 Pseudoscorpion
A Pseudoscorpion attacks Koa during one of their breaks through the terrain, prompting Mills to jump into action to avoid a potentially fatal blow from its stinger. Prehistoric scorpions contained venom just like their modern-day counterparts, but could grow up to 28 inches. Scorpions are some of the oldest creatures in 65 having lived 435 million years ago, and could breathe in water and on land.
2 Unknown Parasite
Mills and Koa encounter an unknown parasite that nearly kills Koa when she’s trying to sleep inside a vacant cave. Even space-traveling beings as advanced as Mills and Koa wouldn’t have had immunity to disease-carrying parasites, which would have been more dangerous for them than some of the carnivores. Fortunately, Koa pulls through with the help of Mills’ quick-thinking and med-pack.
1 Quetzalcoatlus
The Quetzalcoaltus is a genus of pterosaur that filled the skies of the Late Cretaceous Period in North America. In its day, it was the largest flying animal around, but only has a cameo in 65. It could reach a length of 35 feet and weigh over 550 pounds, which meant that while carrying someone Mills’ size would have been difficult, it could have definitely made off with Koa.
Source: Washington Post
