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| Length: 10 ft. Weight: 33-66 lbs. Period: Late Triassic |
A small theropsid scampered across the ground, heading toward a cluster of horsetails. A hungry Coelophysis spied the mammal-like creature and ran after it. Would the theropsid elude Coelophysis or become his prey?
A
Hollow-Boned Hunter
Evidence of Groups
Coelophysis the Cannibal?
How Do We
Know That?
Mesozoic Timeline
One of the earliest hunting dinosaurs, Coelophysis was small and agile. This predator hunted in a dry, desert environment during the Triassic period.
A
Hollow-Boned Hunter
Coelophysis was a small
dinosaur with a light frame of hollow bones.
The species only reached lengths of about 9 feet (2.8 meters).
Coelophysis’ hollow skeleton gave it a very light weight and enabled it
to run very fast on its two long legs. Evidence
for Coelophysis’ speed can be found in its fossilized footprints.
While most Coelophysis footprints measure only about 4 inches (10
centimeters) across, the corresponding stride lengths are often 2.5 feet (0.75
meters) long.
Like other meat-eating
dinosaurs, Coelophysis had two short arms with clawed, three-fingered hands.
These strong arms were used to grip Coelophysis’ struggling victims.
Coelophysis also had strong jaws with dozens of serrated teeth that the
dinosaur used to tear off bite-sized chunks of meat.
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Evidence
of Groups
Bonebeds containing many
Coelophysis skeletons have been discovered in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah,
USA. The groups of skeletons suggest that Coelophysis may have lived
in groups or at least sometimes gathered in groups. Scientists think it is
unlikely that Coelophysis hunted in packs like wolves.
Coelophysis claws and teeth were better suited for catching and eating
small animals.
Coelophysis
the Cannibal?
Thousands of Coelophysis
bones have been found at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, USA.
Strangely, some adult Coelophysis skeletons contained the skeletons of
tiny Coelophysis juveniles. This
reveals that Coelophysis may have been a cannibal, occasionally dining on its
own young.
How
Do We Know That?
Triassic history met the
space age on January 22, 1998. On
that day, Coelophysis became the first dinosaur in space.
A Coelophysis skull from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History was sent
out on the NASA Endeavor Space Shuttle mission to the Russian MIR Space Station.
