You are in the forested swamps of North America, 193 million years ago.

The heat in the arid environment of what is now Arizona was stifling. You were scanning the riparian edge of a shallow, meandering river when a sudden movement broke the monotony of the cycad forest.

Emerging from the vegetation was a Dilophosaurus. It was significantly larger than you imagined—standing nearly 10 feet tall at the head and measuring roughly 20-25 feet in length, closer in size to a brown bear than the small, dog-like creature from the movies. The creature was sleek, lightly built, and appeared quite bird-like in its movements, holding its long tail horizontal for balance.

Its most striking feature, a pair of delicate, paired vertical crests, sat atop its skull. These weren't solid bone but appeared to be reinforced with keratin and supported by a complex network of air sacs, likely acting as a display for mating or territorial signaling.

You held your breath when you notice the animal stop, its narrow snout surveying the area and letting out a low frequency noise. It is searching for something. Perhaps it is hunting, so pray that you are not what it is looking for…