Coelophysis

Coelophysis rhodesiensis

Resurrected on:

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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

C. rhodesiensis is an African Coelophysis species of which fossils have been found in South Africa and Zimbabwe. It was a smaller species of Coelophysis and could grow up to 2.2 meters long. In Zimbabwe, about 30 individuals have been found together, so paleontologists think that they might lived in groups and hunted in packs.

Species:

Paleontologist:

Distribution:

Epoch:

Coelophysis rhodesiensis

Raath, 1969

Africa

Lower Jurassic

Length:

Height:

Weight:

2.2 m

80 cm

13 kg

Reference:

Bristowe, A., & Raath, M. A. (2004). A juvenile coelophysoid skull from the Early Jurassic of Zimbabwe, and the synonymy of Coelophysis and Syntarsus. Palaeontologia africana, 40(40), 31-41.