What dinosaur is the first to appear in The Lost World: Jurassic Park?

The first dinosaur to appear in The Lost World: Jurassic Park is Compsognathus. The tiny, birdlike predators appear in the film’s opening sequence, attacking a young girl on a beach.

The animals are often called “Compies,” a nickname used throughout the Jurassic Park franchise. Their small size contrasts sharply with the giant Tyrannosaurus and other dinosaurs that dominate the later island scenes. In The Lost World, Compsognathus also swarm and kill the InGen employee Dieter Stark, making them dangerous despite their diminutive appearance.

The film gives the creatures the scientific label “Compsognathus triassicus,” but that name is inaccurate. It combines the genus Compsognathus with the species name of Procompsognathus triassicus, a different small carnivore featured in the Jurassic Park novels. The movie’s Compies are therefore recognizable franchise creatures, even though their on-screen taxonomy is flawed.

The opening sequence is also a frequent quiz trap: the first dinosaur is not the film’s headline Tyrannosaurus, but the much smaller Compsognathus.