Coelophysis

Coelophysis bauri

Resurrected on:

29 feb. 2020

Genus information

Coelophysis is a small carnivore from the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic epoch of North America and Africa. They were very slender and lightly built dinosaurs with long, S-shaped necks and short arms. Due to its body was very light, it was probably a fast dinosaur, being able to cover a lot of ground to scavenge for food. Coelophysis are believed to have lived in large packs; especially in drier seasons. Huge numbers of Coelophysis have been found together in several places in North America and Africa. There is a clear difference in sexual dimorphism; males were slight robust form while females were more gracile. Coelophysis lived in floodplains with clear variations in seasons.

Family:

Distribution:

Epoch:

Coelophysidae

North America and Africa

Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic

Species information

Coelophysis bauri was first named in 1887 in North America. In 1947, an astonishing discovery has been made in the Ghost Ranch quarry in New Mexico; a graveyard full of C. bauri specimens, consisting of over 1.000 individuals. After this discovery, scientists changed the type species from a poorly preserved specimen to one of the best preserved specimens of all time.

Species:

Paleontologist:

Distribution:

Epoch:

Coelophysis bauri

Cope, 1887

North America

Upper Triassic

Length:

Height:

Weight:

3.0 m

1.0 m

25 kg

Reference:

Rinehart, L. F., Lucas, S. G., Heckert, A. B., Spielmann, J. A., & Celeskey, M. D. (2009). The Paleobiology of Coelophysis bauri (Cope) from the Upper Triassic (Apachean) Whitaker quarry, New Mexico, with detailed analysis of a single quarry block: Bulletin 45 (Vol. 45). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.