Coelophysis

Also known as Longosaurus, Rioarribasaurus

Coelophysis (from Ancient Greek κοῖλος (koilos), "hollow", and φύσεις (fysis), "form") is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaurs that lived approximately 215 to 201.4 million years ago during the late Triassic period from the middle Norian to Rhaetian age in what is now the southwestern United States. Megapnosaurus was once considered to be a species within this genus, but this interpretation has been challenged and the genus Megapnosaurus is now considered valid.

Wikidata facts

Parent taxon: Coelophysidae
Image: Raptor Skeleton (36492878135).jpg
Length: 2.0

Show 9 more facts

end time: 196000000-
taxon name: Coelophysis
Commons category: Coelophysis
taxon rank: genus
Commons gallery: Coelophysis
start time: 216000000-
time period: Late Triassic
location of discovery: South Africa
main food source: carnivore

Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~48 min read

Encyclopedic overview

19 sections

Contents

History of discovery
Ghost Ranch discoveries
Formerly assigned material and taxa
Description
Distinguishing anatomical features
Classification
Paleobiology
Feeding
Pack behavior
Growth and sexual dimorphism
Reproduction
Paleopathology
Ichnology
Paleoenvironment
Taphonomy
Cultural significance
Notes
References
External links

Coelophysis was a small, slenderly built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore that could grow up to long. It is one of the earliest known dinosaur genera. Scattered material representing similar animals has been found worldwide in some Late Triassic and Early Jurassic formations.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Coelophysis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.