Dinosaurs A to Z
Coelophysidae

Coelophysis

Generic theropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Coelophysis 3 m (9.8 ft) long
as long as 2 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic theropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Coelophysis
Length
3 m (9.8 ft)
Period
Late Triassic (237–201 Mya)
Place
United States
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Coelophysidae

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.

Coelophysis was a small, slenderly built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore that could grow up to 3 m 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.

What we know

  • Named by Cope, 1889.
  • Body length estimated at about 3 m.
  • Fossils found in United States.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Coelophysis — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.