Pet Peeve

Something that's always bothered Kid Various is the way that the movie Jurassic Park portrayed Tyrannosaurus as somehow visually impaired. Remember this scene in the movie where Sam Neill and the kid are confronted with the Tyrannosaur less than a foot away from them?


The trick was to remain absolutely still, because the Tyrannosaurus's vision was dependent on movement.

Uh huh. Those people are lunch.

First of all, that animal had an incredible sense of smell. It could probably smell a fresh carcass two miles away. It knows you're there Sam...

But even so, what's with the whole vision based on movement thing? Tyrannosaurus had excellent vision (in addition to its other senses.) Because it's eyes sat forward on its skull, rather than to the side, it had binocular vision and a 3D depth of field.

Take a look at these models from the above web site:

Allosaurus Fragilis. Top predator of the Jurassic. A therapod, like Tyrannosaurus, but from the Carnosaur line. Note how the eyes are set substatially on the side of the head like a horse. Also the tall lacrimal bones make it difficult for each eye to look over the snout.


Tyrannosaurus Rex. Top predator of the Cretaceous. Therapod, but a Coelurusaur. See how the eyes are oriented forward? That's 3D vision right there baby.

So, you know, this is just one of the Kid's pet peeves. That and the spitting Dilophosaur. WTF?