Coelophysis

Type Species: Coelophysis bauri

Pronunciation: See-low-fy-sis

Geological Layer: Upper Triassic

Baramin: Coelophysid?

Habitat: Triassic floodplains

Era: Pre-Fall-Post-Flood, 6,000-?

Pre-Fall Diet: Plants

Post-Fall Diet: Carnivore

Length: 10 ft.

Height: 4 ft.

Weight: 33-44 lbs.

Description:

Coelophysis may look like your average dinosaur, but it's anything but; it is specially designed to be a predator. It had needle-sharp teeth in its elongated jaws. It also had sharp vision. Though evolutionists often like to classify this dinosaur as an early version of the so-called “later” theropods, Coelophysis shared many features with them, including the fact that it had a wishbone. Another unique feature of this dinosaur is that it had four fingered hands rather than the classic three-fingered hands of most theropods. The forelimbs of this creature are suited for grasping. Coelophysis also had a long slender neck and tail. The animal's tail would help it to stay perfectly balanced on two legs, whereas most other animals living in the same habitat as Coelophysis would have walked on four legs.

History:

This dinosaur was discovered in the Chinle Formation in northwestern New Mexico by Edward Drinker Cope, who also named the creature in 1889 during a unique paleontological event known as the “Bone Wars”. 1947 was the year of another major Coelophysis discovery; the fossilized skeletons of many Coelophysis were discovered on Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Dr. Edwin H. Colbert was responsible for conducting research on the specimens and it is thanks to him that we know so much about Coelophysis today.

Taxonomy:

As with most extinct animal species, we can't be exactly sure what baramin Coelophysis is in, but it's likely to be the “family” in classification known as coelophysid. Other species from this family are Campnosaurus, Megapnosaurus, Podokesaurus, Procompsognathus and Segisaurus.

Since the early 2000's, scientists have been debating over the validity of the African subspecies Megapnosaurus kayentakatae. In 2005, it was argued that since Megapnosaurus and Coelophysis are almost identical, they might in fact be the same species. But other scientists disagree, believing that there are enough differences between Megapnosaurus and Coelophysis to set the two animals apart as separate species. Even still, these two species are related because they're in the same baramin.

Paleobiology:

Coelophysis was a bipedal, fast-running theropod that made its home in the southwestern portion of the United States. Its fossils have been found mainly in New Mexico and Arizona. At the time the dinosaur was alive, in the pre-Flood era, this Triassic habitat was a relatively lush floodplain with numerous other animals. Coelophysis shared this habitat with creatures such as Placerias, a large herbivorous reptile from the dicynodont infraorder, various small mammal-like reptiles (though they would in no way evolve into mammals as evolutionists suggest), pterosaurs such as Peteinosaurus and other top predators that might have hunted Coelophysis including the phytosaur Rutiodon and the archosaur Postosuchus.

Since numerous fossil skeletons of Coelophysis have been uncovered that died in the same place at the same time, it's possible that this species lived and/or hunted in packs. This would have been helpful in taking down large prey animals such as Placerias, which could easily defend itself with its sharp tusks.

In Ghost Ranch, over a thousand Coelophysis individuals were found. Because of the majority, it's unlikely that this was one large pack, but possibly numerous packs of Coelophysis that came together perhaps to escape the rising waters of Noah's Flood on higher ground before they were catastrophically buried and preserved for 4,350 years.

For years, the fossils of Coelophysis seem to suggest that this species was cannibalistic – fossils of what appeared to be baby Coelophysis were discovered in the stomach cavity of the skeletons of some adults. But in 2002, this was found to be a mistake; the baby “Coelophysis” were actually a species of crocodile-like reptile. For a long time, this faulty example was the only evidence for cannibalism in dinosaurs, but recently, concrete evidence for dinosaur cannibalism is present in species such as Majungasaurus and Tyrannosaurus.

This is one of the Coelophysis specimens thought to have ingested a baby of its own species when alive; we now know it was actually a small crocodile-like creature

Extinction:

Being a land animal, a male and female pair of Coelophysis (or one of Coelophysis' relations) went aboard Noah's Ark 4,350 years ago before Noah's Flood wiped the earth clean of every air-breathing terrestrial creature and all the humans except Noah and his family. After the Flood, Coelophysis went extinct either due to environmental stress and/or human interference (e.g. hunting and/or habitat disturbance).

Popular Culture:

Coelophysis is a popular dinosaur among dinosaur enthusiasts, scientific circles, and books and documentaries about dinosaurs. In BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs, the first episode, “New Blood”, focuses on an adult female Coelophysis as she struggles to survive in the Triassic landscape she lives in. While being a predator, she is under constant threat from the larger Postosuchus, a large archosaur, until she gangs up with other members of her species to bring the beast down once it is injured. Some Coelophysis-like dinosaurs also appear in BBC's Chased by Sea Monsters. Coelophysis again makes an appearance in Discovery Channel's When Dinosaurs Roamed America (2001).

Image Gallery:

A close up of a Coelophysis specimen with crocodile-like reptile fossils in its abdomen.