You are in the volcanic forested lands of South Africa, 199 million years ago.

The air in the Early Jurassic was thick and humid, smelling of sulfur and decaying ferns. You held your breath, crouching behind a massive fern root. Just twenty feet away, a carnivorous dinosaur was busy.

A 6-meter-long (20 ft) Dracovenator stood over a fresh kill, a juvenile Massospondylus half-submerged in the mud.

It wasn't a sleek movie monster; it was robust and muscular, its skin a mottled brownish-grey that helped it blend into the murky environment. The pair of bony crests atop its skull—the "horns" that defined its family—were a vibrant orange-red, signaling its maturity to any rivals nearby.

As it ripped a chunk of meat from its prey, the Dracovenator stopped, lifting its massive, crested head. Its sharp teeth, designed for tearing flesh rather than just biting, were stained crimson. Its pale, raptor-like eyes focused directly on your hiding spot.

Upon sighting you, it hissed—a sound like tearing metal—and took a heavy step towards you, its feet leaving deep depressions in the mud...