Dinosaurs are the environment modifiers of Jurassic Marsh. They are invulnerable creatures which appear on their own as the level progresses, and will be triggered upon meeting zombies which they find nuisances, unleashing special abilities that will usually aid the horde. They can be turned against their former allies with the use of the Perfume-shroom, which will cause the dinosaurs to attack the zombies by using a separate set of attacks. However, unless the Perfume-shroom is imitated, it may take a long time to be able to use it again. Regardless of whether the dinosaurs are charmed or not, they will leave the field after 30 seconds have passed.
Audio
| Sound | Description |
|---|---|
| Raptor's noises. | |
| Raptor walking. | |
| Charmed Raptor kick. | |
| Raptor turning. | |
| Raptor kicking. | |
| Stegosaurus roaring. | |
| Stegosaurus yawning. | |
| Stegosaurus walking. | |
| Stegosaurus with a zombie on its tail. | |
| Stegosaurus flipping sides. | |
| Stegosaurus throwing a zombie. | |
| Stegosaurus throwing. | |
| Pterodactyl flying. | |
| Pterodactyl picking up a zombie. | |
| Pterodactyl pecking the ground. | |
| Idle Pterodactyl. | |
| Pterodactyl noises and yawning. | |
| T. Rex entering. | |
| Sounds made when T. Rex enters. | |
| T. Rex roaring. | |
| T. Rex growling. | |
| T. Rex charmed. | |
| T. Rex eating. | |
| T. Rex's tail wagging. | |
| Ankylosaurus punching a zombie. | |
| Ankylosaurus entering. | |
| Ankylosaurus pulling its tail back. | |
| Ankylosaurus walking. | |
| Ankylosaurus flinging a zombie. | |
| Ankylosaurus preparing. |
List
| Dinosaur | First appearance | Normal effect | Effect when charmed |
|---|---|---|---|
 Raptor |
Day 2 | Kicks a zombie up to four tiles forward, but not past the third column. Leaves after kicking five zombies forward or after estimated amount of waves. | Kicks a zombie off the lawn. Leaves after kicking five times. |
 Stegosaurus |
Day 6 | Snares up to three zombies with its tail, then flings them to random tiles up to the fourth column. Leaves the lawn after flinging three times. | Snares up to three zombies with its tail, then smashes it down on the ground, dealing 135 normal damage shots to the three zombies and another 10 normal damage shots to other zombies in the area. Leaves the lawn after smashing three times. |
 Pterodactyl |
Day 9 | Carries a zombie to the last tile (except Imps and Gargantuars), who then walks rightward. Leaves after carrying three zombies to the last tile. | Abducts the zombie closest to house (except Imps and Gargantuars), then drops the victim's head, armor and arm. Leaves after carrying three zombies, including zombies carried before being charmed. |
 T. Rex |
Day 18 | Roars at zombies in its lane causing a gradual increase in speed. The effect stops if there is a plant that blocks said zombie(s) or if they are affected by slowing effects. Turns all backward-facing zombies around. Leaves after roaring. | Chomps on zombies that pass by it, killing them instantly. Leaves after chomping five zombies. |
 Ankylosaurus |
Day 25 | Knocks zombies forward with its tail into the first plant. When the zombie hits the plant, it is pushed with the plants behind it similar to Mecha-Football Zombie. If it hits Infi-nut's barrier, the barrier goes down and the Infi-nut is pushed. Similar to Stegosaurus, it is stationary. If it hits a zombie and there are no plants in the way, the zombie is pushed to the second column. If a plant is placed on the eighth or ninth columns, Ankylosaurus pushes it forward, even if there are no zombies nearby. Leaves after it knocks a certain amount of zombies in total. | Similar to Stegosaurus, it waits for upcoming zombies. If zombies go past enough, all zombies on and behind its tail are tossed off-screen, killing them instantly. Leaves after it tosses a certain amount of zombies in total. |
Strategies
Dinosaurs act in place of special zombies in other worlds by aiding normal zombies when encountering them. However, dinosaurs will prove to be much more significant threats than special enemies, as not only are the dinosaurs' abilities quite powerful, almost every zombie are eligible targets for their boosts - this means that backward moving Jurassic Fossilhead or Jurassic Bully can become a common sight in La Brainsa Tarpits, while even Jurassic Gargantuar can be kicked by raptors or flung by ankylosauruses. Additionally, dinosaurs cannot be killed or even harmed, which means that the player will have to deal with the dinosaurs until they leave. While the dinosaurs can also be used to dispatch priority targets with Perfume-shroom, this will give the player little comfort in the long run, due to Perfume-shroom's long recharge time and the dinosaur's limited lifespan, especially if the pterodactyl had picked up zombies beforehand.
Generally speaking, the only way to fully counter dinosaurs is to prevent zombies from getting past the ninth column, as dinosaurs will only use their special abilities on zombies past that point. Defensive walls such as Wall-nut and Endurian can be used to achieve the task, and Primal Wall-nut shines in particular thanks to its relatively fast recharge rate. Infi-nut's Plant Food ability can also be used to cover the plants and shield them from whatever zombies relocated by the dinosaurs, although this strategy will require a great amount of time and Power Lilies to be feasible.
Raptor
As the first dinosaur introduced, the player might have some problems with this dinosaur due to the fact unlike most dinosaurs, this dinosaur can move around it's lane kicking zombies up to the 3rd column. However, without using the Perfume-shroom, this can actually be used as an advantage with Blover or Hurrikale as the kicked zombies are temporally in the air before landing. Primal Peashooters are also an ideal choice as they can push zombies back a few tiles though this requires on luck. If things get rough, Chard Guard and Celery Stalker will help defeat the zombies.
When charmed, they're extremely useful against Gargantuars as they will kick them off the lawn and destroy them instantly.
Stegosaurus
This dinosaur could cause some mayhem to other lanes as this zombie flings not just one, but at least 3 zombies. Once again, using Blover or Hurrikale would do though the amount of time the zombies are in the air compared to Raptors are less, so the player would have to react fast. Instant kills would also work as long as they are not in the process of getting flung as when the zombies are about to be be flung, they are invincible for that time.
Pterodactyl
When the player sees this zombie, they should charm the dinosaur with a Perfume-shroom as soon as they see it. Failing to do it will most likely earn the player a one way ticket to having a zombie acting like a Prospector Zombie except with possibly more health if it manages to grab a strong zombie such as Jurassic Bully. Primal Peashooters make excellent counters for this since they can stun/push the zombie away from the player's most inner defenses though this is not the case for Jurassic Bully due to being immune to Primal Peashooter's knockback. Any backward attacking plants such as Split Pea and Phat Beet also do well against this dinosaur. Shrinking Violet can shrink the zombies enough so this dinosaur won't be able to grab them which makes the Shrinking Violet great against the reptile. Hurrikale will also help against zombies taken back.
T. Rex
Zombies boosted by T. Rex will lose their speed when they encounter edible plants, or if they are hit by slowing effect. Therefore, slowing plants such as Cold Snapdragon, Stallia, and Winter Melon should be considered in levels with T. Rex. Sap-fling will perform poorly however, as its pinecone takes a while to travel and cannot consistently hit the sped up zombies. Keep in mind that if Hurrikale is used and the chilling effect wears off the zombies will still retain their speed. This is true of the chilling effect in general. It should be noted that any backward-facing zombies dropped off by Pterodactyls will turn towards the player's house if the T. Rex roars in the same lane. This can spell potential disaster if a Jurassic Fossilhead or Jurassic Bully is carried by a pterodactyl directly prior to the T. Rex roaring. Also, if a T. Rex roars at the same time zombies eat a defensive plant in the same lane, they will not lose their speed and will continue to eat the defensive plant very fast until they reach a new plant.
Ankylosaurus
Ankylosaurus possesses the most dangerous ability (before the 4.4.1 update, it is possible to use ground plants to stop the zombie flung by Ankylosaurus). The only way to catch the zombie before they hit your defenses is to place a cheap plant such as Puff-shroom, Iceberg Lettuce, or Stallia in front of the zombie when it is about to get flung, or better off using defensive plants to prevent the zombies from interacting with the Ankylosaurus. The player should also know that ankylosauruses will not get charmed while they are in a flinging-position animation. A unique way to stop its attack is to place a Cactus on the third column from the right (seventh column from the left). This will disable the Ankylosaurus' attack, even after the 4.4.1 update. The zombies will simply be launched on top of the Cactus and stop when its hides. This glitch only works if Cactus is out of the ground, not hiding. If it is, the zombie will be launched normally.
Infi-nut's forcefield is very ineffective as the plant will still be pushed. The forcefield will be destroyed instantly.
Gallery
Plants vs. Zombies Wiki has a gallery for Dinosaur.
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Trivia
General
- Among the reptiles shown in Jurassic Marsh, the Pterodactyls (being a genus of Pterosaurs) are the only ones that are not scientifically classified as dinosaurs.
- Zombies that are kicked by Raptors or thrown by Stegosauruses can be blown away by Blover or Hurrikale if it is timed precisely.
- Zombies that are in the Stegosaurus' tail or carried by Pterodactyls are immune to damage, with the exception of instant kills.
- Dinosaurs are the only environment modifiers that are living creatures.
- Raptors and Pterodactyls can miss zombies when they kick them or grab them respectively, either when the zombie dies early or is blown, knocked, or pushed backwards.
- T. Rex and Pterodactyl are the only dinosaurs that do not throw or push the zombies forward.
- A maximum of three dinosaur species can appear on the seed selection screen, but more than that can appear in a level at once.
- The game will show the three "most dangerous" dinosaurs. The order from "most dangerous" to "least dangerous" is: Ankylosaurus, T. Rex, Pterodactyl, Stegosaurus, Raptor, or the reverse of the order that they are encountered in.
- All five species of dinosaurs appear in the Zombot Dinotronic Mechasaur battle, however, at different points of the battle.
- Phase one summons Raptors and Stegosauruses, Phase two summons Pterodactyls, and Phase three summons T. Rexes and Ankylosauruses.
- By Day 15, an asteroid (the note) was found, and Penny believed that it was the meteor that killed the dinosaurs, but shrunk. However, by Day 32, she detects an incoming meteor, meaning that her earlier speculation was wrong.
- Before leaving Jurassic Marsh, Crazy Dave says "Bye-bye, dinos! You'll be birdies in no time.", foreshadowing the evolutionary change of the dinosaurs into modern birds.
- If the player times it right, they can infatuate a dinosaur and still have the same exact dinosaur support the zombies before turning against them.
- If a Jurassic Imp, Jurassic Gargantuar, or Jurassic Bully is defeated by a charmed Stegosaurus or T. Rex, it will still have a regular zombie arm.
- Even though the world is called Jurassic Marsh, there are T. Rexes and Ankylosauruses present. In real life, these dinosaurs are believed to have lived during the Cretaceous period.
Raptor
- Raptors can trample flowers without making the player fail.
- This is most likely because the goal specifies that only zombies should not trample the flowers, and dinosaurs are not classified as zombies.
- A charmed Raptor can sometimes glitch out, turning around to the left after kicking a zombie. If this happens, it will not kick any more zombies, becoming useless; nonetheless, the threat they posed would be neutralized. This glitch was fixed in the Jurassic Marsh Part 2 update.
- Raptors are the only dinosaurs that move. The rest of the dinosaurs stay at the right side of the screen
- However, Raptors will stop moving if charmed by Perfume-shroom.
- It is voiced by Patrick Gunn according to the credits.
Stegosaurus
- Despite the world being named Jurassic Marsh, Stegosaurus is the only dinosaur that existed during the Jurassic period, along with the Pterodactyls (Pterosaurs). The other dinosaurs existed in the Cretaceous period.
Pterodactyl
- A charmed Pterodactyl will only drop the head, arm, and armor of the zombie it abducts.
- Any zombies that are dropped by Pterodactyl after all other zombies are killed will also die like Prospector Zombie, Zombie King, and Fisherman Zombie.
- All of the dinosaurs help zombies to get towards the Player's House except for the Pterodactyl; who does the opposite instead.
- Zombies are immune to damage right after Pterodactyl drops them on the left.
- Pterodactyl, Pianist Zombie, and Zombie King are the only zombies that affect certain zombies. This only affects Jurassic Marsh zombies except Jurassic Imp and Jurassic Gargantuar, Pianist Zombie only affects Cowboy Zombie and its variants, and Zombie King only affects Peasant Zombies and its variants when degraded.
- It is voiced by Bonnie Amos according to the credits.
- In real life, they are not classified as dinosaurs, but rather pterosaurs, a species of flying reptile that lived alongside the dinosaurs.
T. Rex
PopCap talks about T. Rex
- According to PopCap, T. Rex's behavior was based on the newest scientific theories about dinosaurs.
- Zombies under the slowing effects will receive a speed boost from the T. Rex once the slowing effect wears off.
Ankylosaurus
- Ankylosaurus is the only dinosaur that can affect both plants and zombies.
- Ankylosaurus walks and holds its tail over its head like a scorpion.
- There is a glitch where after all zombies in a level are defeated, any Ankylosauruses on screen will continue pushing or flinging with their tails, despite all zombies being neutralized.
- The Jurassic Marsh Part 2 sneak peek banner in the main menu has a picture of the Ankylosaurus and the words: "Objects in game may be larger than they appear!", which is a reference to "Jurassic Park."